It was a movie story. And it was, but with a different plot. Magnificent game from the Nordic country, they knew their limitations and played with what they had. Closed, on the counterattack. Slovakia’s first victory over England. The Slovaks’ first time in the Euro quarterfinals. British eliminated with a super team. Football wasn’t coming home. That was if it weren’t for Jude Bellingham, who scored a phenomenal shot in the 50th minute of the second half, and Harry Kane, who dashed all of Slovakia’s dreams in the first minute of extra time. 2 to 1 and guaranteed English classification.
The English are on track for their first European Championship title in history and now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals of the competition. On the other hand, the Slovaks say goodbye to the tournament and equal their best campaign in history, in 2016, when they stopped in the round of 16.
As in the group stage, English below
At first, the game seemed very tight. The teams studied each other very closely and rarely posed any danger. The match was very tight in the central sector of the field in the first few minutes.
As in the group stage, England did not play well. And Slovakia, in turn, was no fool: in the 24th minute, Strelec received the ball in the middle and found Schranz with a great pass in front of goal, who, with absurd calm, touched the ball past Pickford and opened the scoring.
The British were slow and predictable in attack, and every chance they tried to create to equalise the match was quickly stopped and contained by the Slovak defence.
The Balkan opponents, in turn, were efficient and quick. They closed in on Southgate’s men and, in the only real opportunity they had, managed to break through the English blockade. The partial victory was more than deserved.
It was like a movie, but the plot changed at the end
The 15-minute break really paid off for the English team. Southgate found a way to do it. In the fifth minute, Trippier appeared free on the right, received a great pass from Kane and found Foden inside the six-yard box who, with almost no goalkeeper, pushed the ball into the back of the net. However, the goal was disallowed due to the City midfielder being offside.
England had woken up and were a different team at the start of the second half. In the sixth minute, Kane received the ball on the left, cleared the line, cut to the middle and shot low. The ball deflected in defense and almost killed Dubravka, but died on the baseline.
Nine minutes in, almost the second for the Slovaks. After a blunder on the halfway line, Strelec took advantage of the free ball, saw Pickford ahead and tried from there, but the ball “only” went close to the post and went out close to the goal.
At 35, another chance for the English, who pressed incessantly in desperation. Declan Rice received the ball on the edge of the area, cleared it to the right and took a chance from outside, but the ball exploded onto the post. On the rebound, Kane tried to volley, but the shot went too high and went over the top.
Football is incredible. With five of the six minutes of added time promised by the referee, after a “later”, Guéhi went backwards and Bellingham made an absurd attempt inside the area to tie the match and be the hero that the English were so applauding.
In the first play of the additional 30 minutes, England recovered. After Eze’s crooked shot at the edge of the area, Toney took advantage and headed the ball into the area, where Harry Kane appeared unmarked and, also on target, turned the game around in extra time.
Slovakia even tried to tie the match. On two occasions, with Pekarík and Tupta, but, without efficiency and calm at the time of completion, the score remained 2-1 to the English until the end. The Slovak dream is over and the British are breathing.
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2024-06-30 18:51:03
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