PREVIEW
Gareth Southgate’s hesitant England team will need to finally make its presence felt in Euro 2024 against Slovakia in the last-16, or the underdog Slovaks will fancy its chances of upending its opponent.
Southgate’s richly talented squad arrived in Germany as a tournament favourite but optimism around the 2020 runners-ups 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 its campaign by shocking No. 3 Belgium 1-0, a team ranked 42 places above it.
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“The English have quality, but every opponent it has played was 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 its win over Belgium, while minnow 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.
Here are the predicted lineups and formations of England vs Slovakia:
ENGLAND VS SLOVAKIA PREDICTED LINEUPS:
England predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford (GK); Walker, Guehi, Stones, Trippier; Rice, Mainoo; Saka, Bellingham, Foden; Kane
Slovakia predicted XI (4-3-3): Dubravka (GK); Pekarik, Vavro, Skriniar, Hancko; Kucka, Lobotka, Duda; Schranz, Bozenik, Haraslin
