England take on Slovakia in the round of 16 as the Euro 2024 knockouts continue today. Gareth Southgate’s side have returned to Gelsenkirchen for this clash, playing in the only stadium to yield a win for them so far in the tournament.
After a slim victory over Serbia and two unconvincing draws versus Denmark and Slovenia, the Three Lions need to put in a strong performance if they hope to comfortably reach the last eight. With the team and manager under heavy scrutiny for their style of play a win over Slovakia will ease concerns going forward.
Despite outside noise, Southgate insists his players have no fear of the knockout rounds and told the media: “It could be another brilliant night to create more memories for our supporters. Tomorrow, it’s about the team progressing. We shouldn’t have a fear of losing, it’s about opportunity. We are trying to reach for something which is a challenge.”
Slovakia reached this round by sneaking through a tight Group E having finished on the same number of points as Romania, Belgium and Ukraine. They had a goal difference of zero and secured third spot to set up this encounter with England.
Follow all the build-up and latest updates as England prepare for their last-16 fixture:
Luke Shaw not ready to start for England against Slovakia but could feature
The Euro 2020 finalists return to the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen as they get their knockout phase under way on Sunday.
All 26 players trained at their Blankenhain base on Saturday lunchtime, including Shaw as he looks to make his first appearance since sustaining a hamstring issue in mid-February.
Mike Jones30 June 2024 09:30
“Slovakia test is a chance to improve aspects of our game” says Southgate
Under-fire Gareth Southgate says it is time to deliver as England attempt to put an underwhelming group stage behind them by making improvements and progressing past Slovakia in the round of 16.
The road to Berlin has begun in unconvincing fashion for the Euro 2020 runners-up, with boos greeting the end of the 1-1 draw with Denmark and Tuesday’s goalless stalemate with Slovenia.
But England won Group C having started with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Serbia at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, where they return for their first knockout match on Sunday.
Mike Jones30 June 2024 09:15
Gareth Southgate says England have ‘refined’ penalty preparations
Gareth Southgate has been refining England’s penalty shoot-out preparations in an attempt to prevent a repeat of their Euro 2020 heartbreak.
Having topped Group C despite attracting scathing criticism for their performances, England now face Slovakia in the last 16 of Euro 2024.
England lost the last European Championships final on penalties to Italy at Wembley as they came closer than ever to ending the wait for a major men’s trophy, a run which now stretches back 58 years.
Mike Jones30 June 2024 09:00
Gareth Southgate gives team update ahead of England’s match against Slovakia at Euro 2024
Under-fire Southgate says he is enjoying the “ultimate challenge” of trying to steer the England “juggernaut” to Euros glory as attention turns to improvements and knockout progress.
The road to Berlin has begun in unconvincing fashion for the Euro 2020 runners-up, with boos greeting the end of the 1-1 draw with Denmark and Tuesday’s 0-0 stalemate with Slovenia.
But England won Group C having started with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Serbia at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, where they return for their first knockout match on Sunday.
Mike Jones30 June 2024 08:45
Harry Kane insists he will be at ‘peak sharpness’ for England against Slovakia
Harry Kane believes he will be at “peak sharpness” as he looks to continue his fine knockout goalscoring record for England at Euro 2024.
Captain Kane may be England’s all-time leading goalscorer but his strike in the draw with Denmark was his first in the group stage of a major finals since the 2018 World Cup.
However, he will be buoyed by his recent record once the business end of the tournament begins against Slovakia on Sunday, having scored four in four at Euro 2020 as England were eventually beaten on penalties by Italy.
Mike Jones30 June 2024 08:30
Gareth Southgate says trying to win Euros with England ‘the ultimate challenge’
Under-fire Gareth Southgate is embracing expectations and the “ultimate challenge” of trying to win the Euros rather than worrying whether Sunday’s last-16 clash with Slovakia could be his final match.
Boos, and even some plastic cups, were aimed the long-serving manager’s way after Tuesday’s miserable 0-0 draw with Slovenia, which saw them win Group C but left fans and pundits unhappy.
Southgate knows the team have to find their “next level” as the knockout phase gets under way against Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen, where they recorded their only win of these Euros a fortnight ago against Serbia.
Mike Jones30 June 2024 08:15
Good morning!
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of today’s Euro 2024 action which sees England back on the pitch as they take on Slovakia in the last-16.
Gareth Southgate’s men had failed to impress so far following three lacklustre performances though they did manage to finish top of Group C and set up a more favourable route to the final.
Their opponent’s today snuck through Group E after all four teams finished on four points. The Slovaks’ goal difference of zero was enough to secure them a spot in the knockouts rounds as Ukraine were eliminated.
Slovakia’s goal for the tournament was to qualify for this stage and now that they’re here they will believe that they can cause England a few problems and possibly even beat the struggling team.
Kick off for this one is at 5pm and we’ll have all the build-up, team news and updates throughout the day so stick around.
Mike Jones30 June 2024 08:00
