On July 1, Beijing time, in the 1/8 finals of the knockout round of the 2024 European Cup, England defeated Slovakia 2:1 in extra time and advanced to the top 8. Spain beat Georgia 4-1 and will face hosts Germany in the round of eight. At 0:00 on July 2, Beijing time, the favorite French team will usher in a contest with Belgium, and Portugal led by Ronaldo will also play, and the opponent is Slovenia.
England narrowly won, Spain went wild
Italy, the champions of the last European Championship, went home in the first game of the knockout round. Originally, last year's runners-up, England, had come infinitely close to keeping up with them – just one minute away. With 1 win and 2 draws in the group stage, England coach Gareth Southgate got his own satisfactory result amid a wave of disgruntled scolding, and was "lucky" to find that his team entered a relatively comfortable bottom half, avoiding all the favourites. Celebrities and media from all walks of life are still "tirelessly" making suggestions, but Southgate chooses to "stick to his heart".
In this game, Foden, who returned to England in midweek due to the birth of his third child, returned to the team before the game and continued to appear in the starting line-up, unchanged from the left flank, which had few bright spots in the group stage. Against Slovakia, who have won five of their last six meetings, England started the game positively, at least with a slightly lighter pace than they did in the group stage. The accident came in the 25th minute, Slovakia cleared a long pass from the backfield, the 37-year-old veteran Kucska ferried, Strelec comfortably received the ball and sent a simple through pass, Schlanz scored his third goal of this European Championship, and Slovakia unexpectedly took the lead.
England players celebrate team-mate Jude Bellingham's goal
Just after half-time, Gareth Southgate stood still, and in the final minute of normal time, Walker threw a throw-in, centre-back Guehi headed back, Bellingham hooked home and England narrowly equalised. In the first minute of extra time, Palmer took a corner kick, Slovak goalkeeper Dubravka knocked the ball out of the penalty area, Eze met the ball and volleyed it obviously, but Ivan Toney calmly ferried, Kane scored with a header, and England completed the reversal 2:1 and advanced in a thrilling way. In the round of eight, they will face Switzerland, who knocked out defending champions Italy.
△ Spain's Daniel Olmo (left) celebrates a goal during the match
Compared with England, Spain, which has caused a storm of youth in this European Cup, is much more relaxed. With 35:4 shots on goal and a score of 4:1, 17 shots on goal in the first half set a record for the first half of the European Cup knockout round, and Spain qualified with a huge advantage without any suspense. Spain won the knockout stage of a major tournament for the first time since successfully defending their Euro 2012 title in regular time, winning four consecutive tournaments for the first time in their history, and they will take on hosts Germany, who are also considered favourites to win the tournament, in the quarter-finals.
Will France and Portugal be able to make it through?
In the early morning of July 2, Beijing time, on the third match day of the 1/8 finals, the French team will meet the Belgian team, and the Portuguese team led by Ronaldo will play against the Slovenian team. Because of the performance of "carelessness in Jingzhou" in the group stage, the French team and the Belgian team met early. Overall, both teams are not in great form. Unlike many big clubs, France tend to give up possession of the ball and rely on counter-attacks to win, a tactic that has been significantly undermined after Mbappe's injury. The team looks star-studded and bleak on the pitch, and the veteran N'Golo Kante is still needed to fight for his life at both ends of the pitch.
△ Can Portugal player Cristiano Ronaldo (right) lead the team to move forward?
Belgium have a tradition of disunity, and De Bruyne led his team-mates away from the pitch in the face of boos in the last game, confirming their rebellion. Belgium have only scored in one of their three group games, which is related to Lukaku's amazing ability to "spit cakes", and the aging of the back line is also a huge concern against the French team. Overall, the French team undoubtedly has a better chance of winning.
Portugal were the only team to win all of their qualifiers, winning their first two group games. On the whole, there are no obvious shortcomings in the team's offensive and defensive ends, including the midfield organization, although Ronaldo and Pepe are old, they are old and strong, and there are strong young people sitting on the bench. Slovenia qualified from three draws, especially in the final group game against England, which was impressive. In March this year, the Slovenian team defeated Portugal 2-0 in a friendly match, but it was a friendly match after all.
Modern Express/Modern + reporter Wang Wei Image source: Xinhua News Agency