When everything seemed lost, England showed their colours. Thanks to the 1:1 equaliser through Jude Bellingham’s header in injury time of the second half, the winner of Group C forced extra time at the European Football Championship in Germany. Against the underdog Slovakia, who were leading until shortly before the end thanks to a goal by Ivan Schranz (25th), the spectators saw a long, frustrating encounter from an English perspective.
But now the signal for a turnaround had been given, so that the favorite won 2:1 thanks to Harry Kane’s header (90th+1), his second goal of the tournament – and will therefore face Switzerland in the quarter-finals in Düsseldorf on Saturday (6 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the European Football Championship and on Magenta TV). A difficult birth, but one that could still have a stimulating effect on the rest of the tournament for the English.
The team of the widely criticised coach Gareth Southgate actually wanted to finally treat their disappointed fans to a touch of British football glory in their first knockout duel of the tournament. They wanted to send a signal of change against Slovakia, who, as 45th in the FIFA world rankings, had thrilled their fans at the European Championships with courageous performances. “For us,” said Bellingham, who turned 21 on Saturday, “this game offers a great opportunity to return to the level we need to be at now.” At least Bellingham personally kept his promise.
Jude Bellingham, Kyle Walker and the English narrowly avoid failure.AFP
The fifth-ranked team in the world rankings, on the other hand, once again felt their way uninspiredly into a game in which the Slovakians fought back courageously and cleverly early on. Left-back Hancko had the first chance when he missed his target from a tight angle (5th minute). A warning shot that did not encourage the English to do more for their own game. Haraslin had the second big opportunity for Slovakia, but was stopped at the last moment by central defender Guehi (12th minute).
While the unsettled English team showed great enthusiasm in collecting yellow cards and had already received three warnings after 17 minutes, the team of Italian football coach Francesco Calzona prepared for the next opportunity. Ivan Schranz took advantage of this opportunity, after his club colleague David Strelec from Slavia Prague had played the ball perfectly into his path.
Watching for English mistakes pays off
With the 1-0, a low shot past goalkeeper Pickford, the right winger moved to the top of the European Championship goal scorers list. Waiting for English mistakes had paid off for Slovakia, while Southgate’s team tried to reset at half-time to at least vaguely resemble the world-class team that the Three Lions were considered to be up until the tournament in Germany.
The England team returned to the pitch with renewed courage and scored the 1:1 (50th minute) shortly afterwards after Kane shifted the play to Kieran Trippier and his pass to Phil Foden by the Premier League’s “Player of the Season”. Or did he? The Turkish referee Meler destroyed the English dream of a comeback shortly afterwards and ruled that the shooter was offside.
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Once again, there was one less hope for the Stars. Shortly afterwards, however, the English were lucky when Strelec’s long-range shot from the halfway line flew over keeper Pickford, who was standing far in front of the goal, and just over the crossbar of the English goal (55′).
But the hope for a miraculous turnaround remained alive. The substitution of Chelsea right winger Cole Palmer, who has recently been strong in the Premier League, instead of full-back Trippier (66th minute) at least gave the team a jolt. England rewarded themselves with the courage of desperation. While midfielder Declan Rice only hit the post with his long-range shot (81st minute), Bellingham was there with his last shot in the sixth minute of injury time to make it 1-1.
The duel, which was at least exciting, went into extra time, in which there was a lot to be said for the English, who had finally woken up. They quickly set about making the evening a golden one. Kane took the opportunity to show himself to be an indestructible goalscorer and scored the 2-1 lead with a header. An encore that rewarded the still shaky English for their dedication to the end. The English tour of Germany continues. But to prevail against Switzerland, Kane & Co. will have to improve a lot.
