England, solid if not brilliant, and Spain are expected to make short work of Slovakia and Georgia respectively in Sunday’s Round of 8, but beware: this Euro-2024 doesn’t like stories written in advance.
In the wake of holders Italy’s elimination at the hands of Switzerland (2-0), and Germany’s qualification against Denmark (2-0), two other title contenders are aiming for the quarter-finals. In Gelsenkirchen, England take on Slovakia at 6 PM.
On paper, there’s no contest: the “Three Lions”, 5th in the Fifa rankings and runners-up at the 2021 European Championship, should be flying in the feathers of the Slovak “Falcons,” who are ranked 45th in the world and have already equalled their best-ever result by reaching the last eight.
However, England played on their fans’ nerves during the group phase, finishing top of their group but with just one win (against Serbia 1-0), two draws (1-1 against Denmark and 0-0 against Slovenia), and only two goals scored.
Abysmal Gap
It’s a sorry state of affairs for one of the tournament favorites to field Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane, all of whom have scored a total of 114 goals for their respective clubs this season.
For the England fans, expected back in Gelsenkirchen in their droves, the blame for the mediocre first phase lies squarely with coach Gareth Southgate, who was the target of criticism and cup-throwing after the draw with Slovenia. “99% of the fans are behind the team and the manager,” Kane brushed off.
Slovakia, for their part, have little to lose and showed that they can throw a few stones in the path of the big boys, as Belgium, beaten 1-0 in their opening game, can testify.
The Slovaks then fell back into line with a 2-1 defeat by Ukraine and a 1-1 draw with Romania: “The English can punish you at any time,” warned Italian Falcons coach Francesco Calzona, who is a firm believer in stifling pressure.
The gap is even wider between Spain, the most attractive team of the first three weeks, and Georgia, probably the least expected at this stage of the competition, who face off in Cologne (22:00).
Three-time European champions Spain were the only team to finish the group phase with a maximum of nine points, thanks in no small part to their unashamedly prodigious wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams.
‘We’ve Already Won the Euro’
To say that Georgia, ranked 74th in the world, surprised everyone in their first appearance at a major tournament would be an understatement.
Willy Sagnol’s team lost their first match against Turkey (3-1), undoubtedly the finest of the tournament so far, for its intensity on the pitch and in the stands.
Thanks to goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and center-forward Georges Mikautadze, the Euro’s top scorer with three “counters,” the Georgians upset the Czechs (1-1), then dominated the Portuguese (2-0), already qualified and in a lighter version.
“We’re going into this game with a lot of confidence because we’ve got absolutely nothing to lose. As far as I’m concerned, we’ve already won Euro-2024,” warned Sagnol.
“We don’t see this as an easy match at all,” replied his Spanish counterpart Luis de la Fuente. “Georgia have grown so much since we played them in the qualifiers,” he pointed out, referring to Spain’s comprehensive victories (7-1 and 3-1).
On the eve of their reunion with their arch-rivals Belgium (Monday 6:00 PM in Düsseldorf), Les Bleus will sacrifice traditional pre-match protocol with a press conference by coach Didier Deschamps.
Another expected press conference is that of Italian Football Federation President Gabriele Gravina, who, together with Luciano Spalletti, will take stock of a calamitous Euro at midday from his base camp in Iserlohn. In Italy, the Nazionale’s elimination is seen as “a disgrace,” “a disaster” and “a failure,” according to the headlines in the Sunday press.
With AFP
