England took on Slovakia earlier today in Gelsenkirchen, Germany at the Arena Aufschalke in the Euro 2024 Round of 16. England were heavy favorites entering the match, but their form coming into the game was worrying for many of their fans. They been stuck in second gear for the entirety of the group stage, having only scored two goals in three matches. There have been many questions about the tactics and line-ups put out by manager Gareth Southgate, with many supporters clamoring for changes to the starting XI and to have a generally more positive and attacking style of football. Slovakia, for their part, stunned Belgium in the group stage and did just enough to progress out of their group in 3rd place, so they would not be pushovers. Slovakia have only played England 5 times and lost 4 of them, but they did manage a draw against the Three Lions at Euro 2016.
The match was a little slow to start, with England yet again content to pass it along the back line. It was possession, but it was passive possession without too much venturing forward. Slovakia were the team interested in getting forward when on the ball, and they were creating a lot more than England did. The Slovakians were rewarded for their endeavors on 25 minutes when they broke forward on a long ball over the top, and got the opening goal through winger/forward Ivan Schranz. England’s back line failed to clear the ball over the top, and it was controlled on the edge of the box by forward David Strelec. Schranz was on an intelligent run in behind the England defense, and Strelec found him with a reverse pass directly into his path. Schranz hit the ball with the outside of his left foot, and England keeper Jordan Pickford could do nothing to keep it out of the right corner of his goal. Terrible defending from England, but all credit to Slovakia for taking advantage of the situation. A good goal, no two ways about it. The Slovakia supporters in the stadium lost their minds in celebration, and rightfully so.
England got back on the ball fairly quickly, but again there was no rhythm or intention about their play. They just kept passing it along the back line and occasionally into shallow midfield, with the Slovaks more than happy to sit back deep and defend their lead. England forced a series of corners towards the end of the half, but they could not find a breakthrough. At halftime, England were down 1-0.
The second half was much of the same in the first 15 minutes or so, and England were almost embarrassed by Strelec again when England lost possession off a throw-in and Strelec let go of a shot from the halfway line. Pickford was too far off his line to get to it, but mercifully, the shot faded away and to the right at the last moment. Had England conceded a second in such embarrassing fashion, it likely would have been match over and an early flight home. They were really hanging on at times. England thought they had an equalizer on 55 minutes when winger/forward/midfielder/who knows Phil Foden tapped in from close range, but the goal was (correctly) called back for offside. Foden was just ahead of the ball when it was played to him, although he didn’t need to be given that he was in acres of space. Frustrating, but it showed that England can score fairly easily when they move the ball a little bit quicker.
England had another “almost” moment when a cross from the left side found the head of striker Harry Kane about 7 yards out from goal, but his header lacked direction and the ball went wide of Slovak keeper Martin Dubravka’s goal. You’d have bet the mortgage on Kane scoring from there, which made his miss feel like it just wasn’t going to be England’s day. Midfielder Declan Rice later saw a long range effort strike Dubravka’s right hand post, after which it bounced back to Kane for an attempt. His scissor kick was too powerful though, and it bounced harmlessly over the top of the goal.
Southgate did make some changes to try and get some life into the team, and England did get better as the clock ticked towards full time. England were truly desperate towards the end, and did not look like they would be able to conjure up an equalizer. They were piling men forward though finally, so it was always going to be a nervy finish for both sets of fans in the stadium and around the world.
Late into stoppage time, England were awarded a throw-in on the right wing. Right back Kyle Walker took it, and he launched the ball into the box as hard as he could. It was flicked on by the head of England center back Marc Guehi, and it fell directly to midfielder Jude Bellingham about 10 yards from the goal. The ball was high in the air though, so Bellingham had to contort his body and legs to get in position to strike it. He caught the ball sweetly with an overhead scissor kick, and it bounced into the left hand corner of Dubravka’s goal with him rooted to the spot. An equalizer! Not only that, but a stunning equalizer on 95 minutes! England fans were ecstatic, and there was massive collective sigh from everyone as well. Slovakia were stunned, having defended so well for 94 minutes. The match ended barely a minute or so after that, and instead of going home, England were allowed to fight on for another 30 minutes.
England kept the pressure on that they had sustained for the final 10 minutes or so of normal time, and were rewarded for that pressure just as extra time got underway. A free kick from the right wing was crossed into the box by substitute midfielder Cole Palmer, only for it to meet the fist of Dubravka, who punched it out. It only went as far as the edge of the box though, where it was hit back into the mix by substitute midfielder Ebrechi Eze. The ball bounced into the air, and it was flicked across the face of goal by the head of substitute striker Ivan Toney. The ball hung in the air for a split second, and Kane was on hand to head it home from about 3 yards out! Great positional instinct from Kane, but even better instincts from Eze and Toney to keep the ball in a dangerous area. Well done to Toney in particular, who had come on just before Bellingham’s goal and likely didn’t think he would have much of a role to play. Slovakia failed to properly clear their lines though, and England punished them for it.
However, there was still 29 minutes of extra time left to play. England were not home and dry just yet, and Slovakia reminded them of that a few times with some “nearly” moments of their own. Maddeningly, England reverted to dropping deep and defending again after they took the lead. They were inviting pressure, but some good defending and fairly routine saves from Pickford saw England snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It was insanely nerve-wracking, but they did just enough to secure passage to the quarterfinals.
Once again though, England were not good enough throughout the match and probably did not fully deserve to win. They defended well for the most part, but the midfield was an absolute mess and there were long passages of play where they did not create any chances. Bellingham’s goal in the 95th minute was England’s first shot on goal for the whole match! That’s inexcusable. A team with this level of talent on it should not be struggling as much as they do in attack. But its the same story as the last three matches – players are being played out of position and they have been coached to play passively and retain possession.
I think Southgate is done after this tournament. Unless England go on and win the whole thing (unlikely), Southgate will be out of a job. It’s monumentally frustrating to watch this England team, and most of that is on Southgate. He refuses to significantly change his line-ups, and seems intent on employing players out of position. Foden is useless on the left wing. Fullback Kieran Trippier is even more useless at left back. Foden and Trippier play as if they have never met one another. Palmer is not a right winger. Eze is not a left winger or a left back. Kane frequently has to drop deep to get on the ball, and that is not where he is most effective. There are a lot of questionable decisions being made by Southgate before the lads even set foot on the pitch, and they are not being set up for success.
One silver lining for the next match is that Southgate is going to have to change things up out of necessity. Guehi was (questionably) yellow-carded early in the match, which was his second yellow of the tournament. He will miss the next match on a 1 game suspension. Trippier was also injured late on, so he might not feature next Saturday either. There would be no better time for left back Luke Shaw to find some fitness. If he is not fit though, who will Southgate deploy at left back? Unclear at this time. As has happened in the last three matches, England still have questions that remain unsolved. Changes need to happen and will happen, but the extent of them remains unclear. Honestly though, even with all these players out of position, England should still be relatively comfortable against a side like Slovakia. The fact that it took a world-class goal in the 95th minute just to prolong the match is an indictment of Southgate’s poor tactics. Keeping passive possession is fine sometimes, but not when you are down 1-0 for close to 70 minutes!
In an attempt to not be completely doom and gloom, there were a few positives. It was right of Southgate to start Kobbie Mainoo over Conor Gallagher in midfield alongside Rice. Mainoo was arguably England’s most consistent player today. Southgate was also right to bring on Palmer, Eze, and Toney. That is undeniable. He waited a long time to make those changes, particularly in the case of Toney, but they were the correct changes nonetheless. England looked much sharper in attack with two forwards on the pitch instead of just one. He adjusted his tactics, and with a good amount of luck, the adjustments paid off. England also scored two goals for the first time the whole tournament, and they did well to slow Slovakia down in the second half and extra time.
As has been stated before though, England must improve. They will play Switzerland in Dusseldorf, Germany next Saturday (July 6 at 9:00 a.m. PDT) in the quarterfinals, and the Swiss are significantly more talented than Slovakia. Eventually, England’s luck is going to run out. You do need luck to win at a major tournament, but you can’t solely rely on luck. The team has to be set up correctly and the style of play can’t be limited to passive possession. There’s still an opportunity to change things!
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