England were on the verge of collapse until Jude Bellingham came through with a stunning overhead kick to save them with a dramatic stoppage-time overhead kick, becoming Gareth Southgate’s new hero.
Slovakia are pressuring England back and Kobbie Mainoo is booked for an unprovoked tackle late on in a match. England are making attempts at forward progress but they’re struggling to create any clear opportunities.
In this article, we will discuss the main points of England National Football Team vs Slovakia National Football Team Matches.
Slovakia vs. England National Football Team
England will look for a win to advance to the quarter-finals in Euro 2024 Round of 16 play on Tuesday in Gelsenkirchen, as according to Alexi Lalas’ power rankings they currently stand at +350 odds of victory – though that number could rise should they pull off an upset performance.
First half is of utmost importance for England as they look to put pressure on an impressive Slovakia side. Unfortunately, England have had an uncertain start, receiving two yellow cards from Marc Guehi and Kobbie Mainoo within six minutes.
Both teams still have an opportunity to turn this game around in the final ten minutes. England appeared to have taken an edge as Kane set up Sterling in front of goal; however, his effort was blocked by Slovakia. Meanwhile, both nations will hope for a late winner that propels them through to the knockout rounds.
As this match enters its final ten minutes, tension has grown considerably. Both teams are trying to avoid mistakes while earning key possessions and chances. Slovakia had one chance in particular from Ivan Schranz who attempted to poke past Pickford but his attempt went wide.
Jude Bellingham will make his England debut shortly, adding more depth to an attack which has struggled. The Crystal Palace striker will look to add something different than what has already been offered up so far.
Hertha Berlin’s Peter Pekarik and Bochum’s Matus Bero both get involved, with Bero making an important challenge on Strelec to block him from having an easy path towards goal. After some more exchanges in technical areas and additional time is called.
Predictions
After an uninspiring group stage performance, England are in for a tougher test as they prepare to face Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen in the last-16. Gareth Southgate’s side haven’t made much of an impression this tournament but still managed to top Group C thanks to Belgium and Slovenia helping out against them. Bookies believe England have what it takes to advance further to meet one of France, Belgium, Portugal Germany or Spain before reaching quarter final.
England have conceded only 1.2 expected goals across their opening three group matches and should feel confident of getting a result against Slovakia, despite not possessing much offensive threat themselves. England have found their problems most commonly stem from low blocks and reluctance to play through the middle, which Slovakia will look to exploit.
Slovaks are an impressive defensive unit who allow only minimal chances in transition and set pieces – their main avenues for creating chances. Their goal will be to suffocate England’s attacking threat from the center while forcing them down wings where Ivan Schranz and Ondrej Duda may exploit gaps to make runs that pose problems for them.
England midfield has been struggling, prompting Gareth Southgate to consider changing things up – Phil Foden may return, while Kobbie Mainoo could make an impressionful comeback in starting position too. Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona should stick with their 4-3-3 formation as this has worked well throughout all group matches.
England and Slovakia will play a physical match, both teams tending to commit fouls often. Kyle Walker leads England’s scoring defense but has only won 0.67 fouls per 90 minutes this tournament; Lukas Haraslin of Slovakia leads in this regard with 2.17 fouls won per game. To avoid getting into a foul fest early on and avoid unnecessary confrontations. This must-win game for both sides so expect an exciting, tight contest in Gelsenkirchen; both squads possessing goal scoring capabilities within reach; all it could come down to who takes full advantage of opportunities presented them within final third.
Head-to-head record
Slovakia have an inferior record against England, winning only one out of three meetings. England have outscored Slovakia 4-1 during those matches, which shows both their offensive depth and defensive shortcomings on their host team’s side of the field. England’s ability to control the ball and exploit wings also plays a large part in their dominance against Slovakia.
Slovakia attempted to play out the clock during the first half, yet their defence was under siege. David Hancko missed a header, while Lukas Haraslin and Marc Guehi narrowly missed with low crosses from Lukas Haraslin. Jordan Pickford kept England at bay with multiple saves while Kobbie Mainoo and Jude Bellingham received bookings within minutes.
After the break, England improved. Bukayo Saka and Kieran Trippier both delivered dangerous direct balls into the box; Harry Kane sent one across for Phil Foden but he was offside; Mainoo made an impressive effort from an awkward angle while Trippier’s cross nearly found Saka at the back post.
England had an improved second half performance, yet were unable to score their goal. Jordan Henderson was denied by an incredible block from Branislav Ivanovic while substitute Jack Cork’s shot hit the post and rebounded over.
Gareth Southgate will hope that his team can be inspired to victory against Slovakia, and thus restore morale following a defeat at Iceland and draws against Denmark and Finland. The Three Lions came into this tournament as pre-tournament favourites but have fallen short in meeting expectations. A win against Slovakia will keep them in contention for a top four finish and prevent an early exit from competition. Slovakia are currently second in Group C, trailing Belgium by two points. They can make an immediate statement against England but their defense will be put through its paces against a team which has scored only five goals so far in three group matches – hoping to avoid their first ever major tournament first round exit!
Team news
Gareth Southgate knows his underperforming England side must do better if they hope to avoid an early exit from Euro 2024. They currently sit second in Group C behind Switzerland but face an intimidating opponent in Slovakia who have lost to Belgium but drawn with both Denmark and Slovenia so far this campaign.
Southgate plans on making changes in his squad in order to give some players another opportunity to redeem themselves, with Kobbie Mainoo likely replacing Conor Gallagher in midfield and Chelsea’s Ezri Konsa coming on for Jordan Henderson at left back. Southgate must also decide whether or not he wants to revert back to a traditional 4-4-2 formation; although, as yet it remains to be seen how England’s wide players cope with Slovakia’s compact defence.
An exciting opening period ended with Konsa making an excellent defensive block against Skriniar before Peter Pekarik headed wide from a free kick. Southgate sent on another sub in order to bring energy into his side; unfortunately Eberechi Eze wasn’t quick enough to latch onto a deep ball thrown towards her side.
England’s defence quickly find itself caught offside again almost immediately following the restart, with Konsa clearing for another corner before arriving defenders could block a follow-up shot. A second corner soon came, with Ezri Konsa quickly clearing any danger from deep crosses before sending another corner kick out of play.
But England soon slow their pace down again as they allow Romanian players back into the match. Although Romania are unsurprisingly dominant in the final third, England have struggled to find an outlet; Trippier’s long-range effort soared high over the bar before being blocked by Skriniar who quickly came forward and blocked his shot.
Southgate made his initial change early in the match when Manchester United defender Michael Carrick replaced Sterling; however, England were unable to break through Slovakia’s strong defence and end the first half without scoring. Shortly afterwards, Slovakia defender Denis Vavro attempted to clear Eberechi Eze’s ball but the midfielder blocked this attempt at clearing.
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