England Must Show Self-Defense Or Destroy In Slovakia's Hands

Kobbie Mainoo, impressed from the England bench. (photo: uefa.com)

JAKARTA - The England team led by Gareth Southgate must show his identity at Euro 2024 in the last 16 match against Slovakia. If tikda, the underdog team will have the opportunity to beat The Three Lions.

The talented England squad arrived in Germany as one of the tournament's favorites, but optimism around runners-up Euro 2020 faded with three sluggish group matches. They are caught in uncertainty over the best line-up, where coaches admit that "experiments" in early matches failed.

On the other hand, Slovakia started their campaign by surprising the world's number 3 Belgium with a 1-0 win, a team that ranks 42 places higher than them.

"The UK has quality, but any opponents they face can interfere with them," Slovak midfielder Ondrej Duda told TV Markza.

Slovak coach Francesco Calzona called his team the Cinderella story of the group stage after their win over Belgium. Meanwhile, a small team like Georgia also played over expectations by surprising Portugal 2-0 to prove that no team could be underestimated.

So, even though England fans cheered as the Southgate team was on the side of the draw with an easier path to the final, it was just on paper.

"I think everyone has seen in this competition that there is no side of a profitable draw," England defender Marc Guehi told reporters on Thursday, June 27. "Every team, every opponent, is very difficult to deal with. I think we need to remain calm."

At least England showed some improvements in the second half in their 0-0 draw against Slovenia on Tuesday, June 25, where Kobbie Mainoo and Cole Palmer impressed off the bench.

Although England's defense is of major concern ahead of the tournament with the absence of veterans like Harry Maguire with injuries, it has been the best part of the team's Euro campaign. Throughout the group stage, England provided the fewest goal opportunities (xG) - the size of the chance to score against opponents.

Southgate berharap tampil yang lebih baik dari Jude Bellingham, yang tampil luar biasa di babak pertama dalam kemenangan 1-0 mereka terhadap Serbia, tetapi kemudian melambang dalam dua pertandingan berikutnya.

Slovakia is led by clever Napoli midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, who Italian legend Andrea Pirlo calls "the best player in the Italian league."

Calzone, who was previously only an assistant throughout her career before Slovakia appointed her coach in 2022, said her team had reached their main target of reaching the Euros. Everything else, she told UEFA, was "icing on the cake."

"One of the goals now is of course playing beautiful football and making these people proud, because we have had great support in the last matches," he said.

Ruang akan menjadi premium bagi Inggris melawan tim Slovakia yang kemungkinan besar akan bertahan. Selama ini tim tutuhan Southgate selalu kesulitan melawan blok rendah.

England has a history on their side. The Three Lions, never lost to Slovakia with five wins, and one draw - 0-0 in the Euro 2016 group stage.

Slovakia has a solid Euro qualifying campaign with seven wins and one draw in 10 games, while England have won six and two draws in five-team groups. The winner of this match will meet Italy or Switzerland in the quarter-finals.