Slovakia no pushovers for misfiring England in last-16 clash

BLANKENHAIN, Germany : Gareth Southgate's hesitant England team will need to finally make their presence felt in Euro 2024 against Slovakia in the last-16, or the underdog Slovaks will fancy their chances of upending their opponent.

Southgate's richly talented squad arrived in Germany as a tournament favourite but optimism around the 2020 runners-up fizzled with three drab group games mired in uncertainty over the best line-up, with the coach conceding an "experiment" in the early matches had failed.

Slovakia, on the other hand, kicked off their campaign by shocking No. 3 Belgium 1-0, a team ranked 42 places above them.

"The English have quality, but every opponent they have played were able to torment them," Slovakia midfielder Ondrej Duda told TV Markza.

Slovakia boss Francesco Calzona called his team the Cinderella story of the group stage after their win over Belgium, while minnows Georgia also played well above expectations by stunning Portugal 2-0 to prove no team can be counted out.

So, while England fans cheered Southgate's team landing on the kinder side of the draw, with an easier route to the final, that is only paper.

"I think everyone has seen in this competition that there is not a favourable side of the draw," England defender Marc Guehi told reporters on Thursday. "Every team, every opponent, is really tough to come up against. I think we need to remain calm."

England at least showed some improvement in the second half of their 0-0 draw with Slovenia on Tuesday, with Kobbie Mainoo and Cole Palmer impressing off the bench.

While England's defence was a major concern ahead of the tournament with veterans such as Harry Maguire missing due to injury, it has been the best part of the team's Euro campaign. Through