Expectations and pressure are once again on England as Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and co take the next step towards the EURO 2024 title challenge, taking on Slovakia in the last 16.
The Three Lions will return to Gelsenkirchen, where they had their only win in the group stage (1-0 against Serbia in their EURO 2024 opener), before falling into the spotlight for disappointing draws with Denmark (1-1) and Slovenia (0-0).
A similar result against Slovakia at 11pm on June 30 will see England through to the quarter-finals, where they will meet the winner of the Switzerland vs Italy tie.
Historically, England have never lost to Slovakia, with five wins and one draw. The only time they failed to beat their opponents (a 0-0 draw) was in the group stage of EURO 2016.
In the group stage of EURO 2024, Slovakia created a shock by beating Belgium on the opening day, then lost 1-2 to Ukraine and drew 1-1 with Romania.
Standard experts predict 2 scenarios for England vs Slovakia: An England team with a much better squad quality than their opponent who lacks the ability to threaten the team above, if they score early, Southgate's army will be relieved and play brilliantly, possibly leading to a big score.
On the contrary, the match may be a draw, England, although dominating possession, will create few real chances and have difficulty finding the Slovakian goal. However, they will still find a way to score 1 goal, which is more than enough. Prediction: England 1-0 Slovakia .
According to Sportmole experts, even if the squad lacks balance and has not yet found its rhythm, England will still overcome Slovakia to advance to EURO 2024 and 1 goal is enough. Prediction: England 1-0 Slovakia .
Sportskeeda experts also commented: England has yet to show its true potential in the group stage of EURO 2024, if not to say it is the most disappointing team when it was previously ranked as the number 1 candidate of the tournament.
Against England, Slovakia will probably try to keep the game tight and try to attack their opponents. But they do not pose a big threat to the opponent's goal. Therefore, Harry Kane and his teammates should play more openly and aggressively to win, even win easily if they score early. Prediction: England 2-0 Slovakia .
England 2-0 Slovakia is also the score chosen by BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton. He believes that some criticism aimed at England and especially coach Southgate is excessive. Not every team that starts off well wins the title. For example, Portugal, the champions in 2016, started with 3 draws in the group stage.
Everyone knows England can play better and they need to do so against Slovakia. Hopefully Southgate makes a change to the team that drew with Slovenia, with Kobbie Mainoo replacing Conor Callagher in midfield.
Expert Chris Sutton also wants the Three Lions captain to pick Cole Palmer but doesn't think Southgate will do so. If England score early, they will win easily.
Expected lineup:
UK: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi, Trippier; Mainoo, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Foden; Kane
Slovakia : Dubravka; Pekarik, Vavro, Skriniar, Hancko; Kucka, Lobotka, Duda; Schranz, Bozenik, Haraslin
Vietnamese football fans can fully enjoy the UEFA EURO 2024 Finals for free on TV360 at: https://tv360.vn/
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/du-doan-bong-da-anh-vs-slovakia-vong-1-8-euro-2024-23h-ngay-30-6-2296722.html
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