We’ve arrived at the knockout stage of UEFA Euro 2024 as sixteen nations battle it out to be crowned the kings of Europe. There are plenty of fascinating ties to dissect in the days that lie ahead, and we’re interested to see which teams show up and which teams fade away. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the upcoming encounter between England and Slovakia.
England Form GuideSo far, so average for England in these European Championships. There are plenty of questions being asked of Gareth Southgate and, to be honest, that feeling extends to the majority of the squad. There are so many uncertainties in the air but at the bare minimum, there’s a decent route to glory here if they’re able to get some real momentum going.
A sole Jude Bellingham goal was enough to take England to victory over Serbia 1-0, but it wasn’t exactly very promising in terms of the overall performance. That trend continued with a 1-1 draw against Denmark and from there, the Three Lions proceeded to draw 0-0 with Slovenia.
Slovakia Form GuideSlovakia didn’t come into this tournament as a team that many people were keeping an eye on but now, it’s hard to ignore them. They’ve worked incredibly hard to edge their way into the round of 16 and at this point, you’d have to think they have a free shot. Plus, with the Three Lions looking shaky at best, they should be feeling confident about what they could pull off.
Slovakia shocked everyone in their opener as they scored early against Belgium and held on to secure a big 1-0 win. From there, though, they were beaten by Ukraine who came from 1-0 down to defeat them 2-1, before a 1-1 draw with Romania was enough to see them through in 3rd place.
Match PredictionThe Three Lions need to be really careful here because as it stands, we don’t think many fans would be surprised if Slovakia are able to pull off an upset - which is saying a great deal. Still, there’s got to be some belief in there somewhere, and we do think their quality will lead to a narrow England win.