England narrowly saw off Slovakia after extra-time and will now take on Switzerland in the last eight of Euro 2024 after the Swiss dumped out defending champions Italy
England will play Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals after narrowly seeing off Slovakia in the last-16.
Gareth Southgate was facing the most embarrassing defeat of his tenure before Jude Bellingham equalised in the fifth minute of stoppage time before Harry Kane netted an extra-time winner, which means they will now face off against the Swiss who beat Italy 2-0 on Saturday.
England topped Group C after beating Serbia and drawing with Denmark and Slovenia, but performances haven’t been convincing with pressure on Southgate to find his best team.
Slovakia had finished second in Group E, ahead of Romania and Ukraine but behind Belgium, who finished top, and had dared to dream of a historic win. They’d never beaten the Three Lions but took the lead in the first-half and had withstood the English pressure until the final moments.
England’s quarter-final against Switzerland will take place on Saturday, July 6 in Dusseldorf’s Merkur Spiel-Arena with a kick-off time of 5pm BST. The winners of Romania vs the Netherlands and Austria vs Turkey will play at 8pm in Berlin.
The Three Lions are in the perceived easier half of the draw, but their poor displays thus far mean that a spot in the final is not the guarantee many might’ve thought before the tournament.
Southgate said after the late show against Slovakia: “I’m so proud of the players and the spirit the lads showed. Everybody we put into the game played a part and helped us get over the line. They are all pushing and helping each other and tonight, that made the difference.”
Swiss boss Murat Yakin said after their success in Berlin: “The mood is excellent. There is no outside noise. We had a week to prepare for Italy. We will be able to watch Sunday’s game and our plan will come to mind about what happens but we will focus on ourselves. There are only good sides at the Euros.”
Italy’s Euros ended with just a single shot on target against Switzerland on Saturday, with the latter reaching the quarter-finals for just a second time. Luciano Spalletti was eager to take the blame for the loss, saying: “The responsibility is always mine. There’s no blame to everyone. I want to stress this. I want to thank the players for having brought me here.”
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