The UEFA EURO 2024 round of 16 continues with Slovakia aiming to cause an upset when they face England, before Spain seek to continue their winning run against a Georgia side buoyed by their Matchday 3 victory against Portugal.
We look ahead to the day’s action in Gelsenkirchen and Cologne.
England vs Slovakia (Gelsenkirchen)
England arrive in the last 16 as Group C winners, albeit without having truly hit their stride. “We know the performances haven’t been there, we know we can do better,” defender Kieran Trippier admitted after the Three Lions’ goalless draw with Slovenia on Matchday 3.
Still, Gareth Southgate’s side remain unbeaten at these finals and have only conceded one goal so far. “We’ve defended extremely well, which is giving us a foundation to build from,” explained the coach, who has steered his team to at least the quarter-finals at each of the last three major tournaments.
The EURO 2020 runners-up might be favourites on paper to progress to the next round, but Slovakia come into this tie full of confidence and eager to cause an upset.
“We have another goal in front of us; we want to stay in the EURO as long as possible,” said coach Francesco Calzona after Slovakia confirmed their progress with a 1-1 draw against Romania. Having beaten Belgium on Matchday 1 and scored in every game so far, his team should not be underestimated.
Key stat: The only previous EURO final tournament match between England and Slovakia was a 0-0 group stage draw in 2016.
Spain vs Georgia (Cologne)
Spain sent out an unmissable statement of their title intent in the group stage by winning all three matches without conceding a single goal to leave them as the only team with a perfect record. “Doing it the way we did, by winning all three games with three clean sheets, and the way we’ve been playing, just shows the capability of the team we have,” said goalkeeper David Raya.
Coach Luis de la Fuente made ten changes to his side on Matchday 3, but with everyone fit and available, he could rotate his line-up once again. “We suffered but showed we had the strength to resist against a strong opponent,” said the 63-year-old after the narrow 1-0 win against Albania, an encounter that could serve as useful preparation for a fearless Georgia side.
Indeed, Willy Sagnol’s men will be full of confidence in the wake of their impressive 2-0 victory against Portugal to round out their Group F campaign, sending them through as one of the four best third-placed teams.
Georgia forward Georges Mikautadze is currently the EURO 2024 top scorer on three goals, having found the net in every game so far, but Spain will also need to keep an eye on fellow attacker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who impressed on Matchday 3. “Spain and Portugal are among the best teams, but today we showed it’s possible to beat any team,” said the Napoli winger.
Key stat: Spain have won six of the previous seven meetings between these two teams. All six victories came in competitive matches, including two in the EURO 2024 qualifying campaign (7-1 away, 3-1 at home).