EURO 2024 round of 16 fixtures Result: England 2-1 Slovakia

Harry Kane’s header in extra time sent England to the UEFA EURO 2024 quarterfinals, while Jude Bellingham’s spectacular equaliser late in additional time kept Slovakia out of the game.

The only alteration made by either squad was the addition of Kobbie Mainoo to the midfield for England, but otherwise both teams stuck to their winning formula from the group stage. Though Slovakia took the lead initially, David Strelec missed a free kick early on, and then Dávid Hancko, after being passed in down the left, dragged a cross-shot just past the far post.

Lukáš Haraslín was the next to threaten, again on Slovakia’s left, but England scrambled away after a great sliding block from Marc Guéhi, whose early booking keeps him out of the quarterfinal. The breakthrough eventually came in the 25th minute when Strelec threaded a ball through for Schranz, who was able to fend off Guéhi and slide his third goal of the finals past Jordan Pickford. Francesco Calzona’s squad was consistently finding a way past the England defense.

With fresh vigor, England came out for the second half, with a deflected Kane attempt going wide and an early Phil Foden effort being called out for offside. Calzona was pushing Slovakia forward, and Strelec scored his first goal from the halfway line, sending Pickford reeling, but most of the traffic was going the other way.

In an attempt to give England’s assault more vigor, Gareth Southgate sent on Cole Palmer; but, England was unable to gain any ground, even though Kane missed a fantastic opportunity to tip Foden’s free kick wide while he was unmarked.

Time is running out. When Declan Rice attempted to score from long range, Martin Dźbravka was beaten and the ball blasted back against the upright, setting up England’s late comeback. Bellingham responded to Guéhi’s flick with a spectacular overhead kick just when it appeared they would lose, sending the match into extra time.

After Ivan Toney had headed the ball into the goalmouth, Kane pounced to nod in from close range, putting England ahead less than 60 seconds into the extra time. Though clearly upset, Slovakia stood tall and had a chance to tie the score in extra time shortly before the break thanks to a close-range shot by Peter Pekarík, but England prevailed.

Important Statistics

For the first time, England has advanced to the quarterfinals of the EURO.
The Three Lions have already played 11 games without a loss in the EURO (W7 D4).
Extra time has been used in seven of England’s last 10 EURO quarterfinal matches.
In regular time, Bellingham’s goal was England’s most recent EURO score.
The first player to score an England knockout goal in multiple EURO tournaments is Kane.
The captain of England has scored seven goals in his previous seven big event knockout games.
Kane has now surpassed Peter Shilton’s previous national record with 79 competitive appearances for England.
England has only trailed at halftime in three of their thirty-four EURO games.
Mainoo, who is 19 years and 72 days old, is the youngest player to start an England EURO in a knockout game.
With three goals in the EURO final event, Schranz is now Slovakia’s leading scorer.
In the first half of each of their four EURO 2024 matches, Slovakia has scored.