June 30 – England manager Gareth Southgate is confident his misfiring side will finally come good when they take on Slovakia in the last 16 of Euro 2024.
England won their group but despite the luck of the draw throughout the competition have failed to ignite, scoring only two goals despite their supposedly fearsome strike force.
Southgate’s richly talented squad arrived in Germany as a tournament favourite but optimism has waned after three drab group games amid uncertainty over his best line-up.
Slovakia, on the other hand, have exceeded expectations though they have never beaten England in six attempts.
Southgate will certainly hope for a better performance from Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham, who was excellent in the 1-0 win over Serbia but virtually anonymous in the next two games.
Just how poor England were in the group stage will be forgotten if they put on a show against a side ranked 45th in the world.
“That is the reality and of course we have to deliver it,” said Southgate. “The fact is you go into a different mental state. Everybody knows that knockout football is jeopardy, everybody knows that on a given day, an opponent can make it really tough for you.
“You know the quality of the opposition left is high and so it changes the mindset. It is about ‘how far can we go?’ We are trying to achieve something exceptional.”
England are trying to go one better after losing in the final last time. “But it is a step at a time,” said Southgate whose side have an almost complete bill of health apart from Luke Shaw’s continual recovery. Attacking changes are anticipated to provide much-needed impetus.
“The game will take us in different directions at different moments and you’ve got to be able to respond and react in the right way in all of those moments. We have thrived in those challenges in the past and we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”
“We’ve been here before many times, we know what it entails and I think everybody’s excited now about the challenge.”
“We have to be right on our game with and without the ball. We know that some parts of our game we’ve executed well and some we need to do better. I’m just desperate to do well for my country.”
Slovakia head coach Francesco Calzona, whose team is led by Napoli playmaker Stanislav Lobotka, says England have the best squad at the Euros and can become “unbeatable” if they click as a team.
“We need to be very careful; they have physicality, technique… We need to take advantage of their weak points, but we have to be cautious because they can hurt you at any moment,” he said.
But the underdogs have nothing to lose.
“We remember where we started,” said Slovakia captain Milan Skriniar. “When our coach first took the job, we were playing friendly matches in front of 2,000 people in the stadium. And now, after two years of hard work, we’re among the best 16 teams in Europe.”
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