In the 1/8 finals of this European Cup, England reversed Slovakia 2-1 in extra time to advance to the quarterfinals. Between consuming themselves and consuming their opponents, the Three Lions have opted to consume their fans. Trailing Slovakia 1-0 until a last-minute equaliser in stoppage time, England had the last laugh in the most flattering way possible. Although they eventually got through the danger, the England team did not complete the response to the outside world's doubts, and Slovakia, who are not strong on paper, are only 26 seconds away from reaching the quarter-finals, they lost to the individual ability of their stars, lost to the eccentricity of fate, but they are definitely proud of defeat.
In this game, England is still in a situation of copy-and-paste group stage stars fluctuating, Bellingham, who has been in a slump, has returned from the form of "Bellingdayu", while another prince Foden has fallen into the darkest moment. Foden was at home under Pep Guardiola as Premier League MVP last season, and Gareth Southgate has proven that he doesn't have the attributes to pull the edge. Putting Foden on the wing is also a reluctant move by Southgate to ensure that the princes of central midfield can be used as starters. To put it bluntly, there is still a suspicion of being kidnapped by a football star. The result is a slow inversion with zero shots on target at regular time.
Of course, there are welcome changes in England this campaign. Mainou earned himself a place in the starting line-up for the Reds, making his first international start for the youngster, making him the youngest player to start a major tournament for England at the age of 19 years and 72 days, following Luke Shaw (18 years, 347 days) at the 2014 World Cup. And Menu's ascension only shows Southgate's affirmation of his personal ability, as for how to maximize Menu's power, Southgate does not have a clear idea. After all, this game can be thrillingly promoted, relying on the individual ability of the star, and the savior who stepped forward in a desperate situation is Bellingham.
Bellingham's barb at 94:34 saved not only England but Gareth Southgate's managerial career. At that moment, Bellingham seemed to have regained his version of Real Madrid, having been the star of the Blancos last season, including a two-legged national derby against Barcelona in La Liga. Bellingham became England's youngest goalscorer in the knockout stages of the European Championship at the age of 21 years and one day. With one goal at the 2022 World Cup and two so far at this tournament, Bellingham equalled the number of goals scored by England's three legendary midfielders, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and David Beckham.
Kane surpassed Peter Hilton (78) with 79 appearances to become England's all-time most-capped player. Kane netted his sixth European Championship goal in extra-time to level Wayne Rooney and become the joint-second-highest scorer in England's history at the Euros, behind Alan Shearer (seven). So far, Kane has scored 14 goals in the European Championship and World Cup, the fifth-highest all-time goal tally scored by any European player, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (22), Klose (19), Gerd Muller (18) and Jurgen Klinsmann (16). So far, England have scored four goals in this European Championship, and it is interesting to note that none of the contributors are Premier League players, with Bellingham (Real Madrid) and Kane (Bayern Munich) each scoring two goals.
This is the third time in the history of the Slovak team to participate in the European Championship, and they also scored four goals, setting a new record for goals scored in a single European Championship in team history. Schlandz scored three goals and is tied for top scorer with Musiala (Germany) and Mikatadze (Georgia). In addition, Schlanz also became only the second player in Slovakia history to score in the knockout stage of a major tournament, and only the second player in team history to score three + goals in the same international tournament. The last was Vitek, who scored four goals at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and he scored against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the tournament, but Slovakia also lost 1-2 to the Orange in the quarter-finals.
It is an indisputable fact that Slovakia are weak on paper, which determines that their tactical style of play is not technical, and it is this simple and brutal and efficient attack that has pushed England to the brink. Slovakia went unpunished, they have made the whole of England sweat for 94 minutes, and it is Gareth Southgate who should really reflect on it. A good coach should take the fate of the team into his own hands and not hand it over to heroism.
(The original address of this article: public account Xiwa Sports)