Where: Arena AufSchalke (Gelsenkirchen)
Referee: Umut Meler (Tur)
To look forward to: Phil Foden was away from the English camp for two days last week, because he became a father for the third time. Therefore, Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon is expected to replace him on the left flank against Slovakia. Gordon said this week following the game that he knows he is “a nightmare for defenders”. He of course means because of his attacking qualities, but Gordon also had a bad fall with the bike during this European Championship. The abrasions on his face and arms are just as terrifying.
Anthony Gordon with abrasions after flying over the handlebars of his bicycle — © AP
This is what you need to know: Slovakia has already taken the lead in every match at this European Championship, while England has not yet fallen behind. Neither team scored more than one goal in any match. Do we get penalties after 0-0 or 1-1?
Don’t know this: Slovakia captain Milan Skriniar said in preview of this match that they can beat England unexpectedly, just as they defeated Belgium unexpectedly. He has a point, but it still feels like extra salt in our Belgian wound.
Probable England line-up: Pickford – Walker, Stones, Guéhi, Trippier – Mainoo, Rice – Saka Bellingham, Gordon – Kane
Slovakia’s probable line-up: Dubravka – Pekarik, Vavro, Skriniar, Hancko – Kucka, Lobotka, Duda – Schranz, Bozenik, Haraslin
Milan Skriniar — © AFP
Where: Cologne Stadium (Cologne)
Referee: François Letexier (Fra)
Something to look forward to: Spanish newspaper MARCA headlines that Kvaratskhelia is better than all Spaniards combined. Strange to headline that about your own, fairly high-quality, national team. Of course, it also says something about the best Georgian footballer, who is not nicknamed ‘Kvaradona’ for nothing. His impressive performances at both Napoli and the national team even create a real ‘Kvaradona effect’. All children in Georgia suddenly want to become footballers. The number of registrations in football schools has almost doubled.
MARCA: “Kvaratskhelia is better than all of Spain”
What you need to know: In the last seven matches between these two countries, Georgia managed to win once in Spain, 0-1. The Spanish won all other matches, including the two most recent matches during the qualifiers for this tournament in 2023, when it was 3-1 and 1-7 for Spain.
You don’t need to know this: Spain is the home team, so ‘La Roja’ will probably play in red again. That was not the case in the last match, when they wore the light yellow away shirt. Opinions about the shirt on social media are divided. Some people think it’s beautiful, others think it’s hideous. Many would also prefer the Spanish warm-up shirt to be the away shirt.
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Probable Spain line-up: Simon – Carvajal, Le Normand, Laporte, Cucurella – Pedri, Rodri, Ruiz – Yamal, Morata, Williams
Vermoedelijke opstelling Georgië: Mamardashvili – Kverkvelia, Kashia, Kakabadze – Tsitaishvili, Kochorashvili, Chakvetadze, Chakvetadze, Kiteishvili, Dvali – Mikautadze, Kvaratskhelia
2024-06-30 01:00:00
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