FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Euro 2024 - Group E - Slovakia v Romania - Frankfurt Arena, Frankfurt, Germany - June 26, 2024 Slovakia players pose for a team group photo before the match REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo
BLANKENHAIN, Germany (Reuters) - Gareth Southgate's hesitant England team will need to finally make their presence felt in Euro 2024 against Slovakia in the last-16, or the underdog Slovaks will fancy their chances of upending their opponent.
Southgate's richly talented squad arrived in Germany as a tournament favourite but optimism around the 2020 runners-up 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 their campaign by shocking No. 3 Belgium 1-0, a team ranked 42 places above them.
"The English have quality, but every opponent they have played were 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 their win over Belgium, while minnows 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.
"I think everyone has seen in this competition that there is not a favourable side of the draw," England defender Marc Guehi told reporters on Thursday. "Every team, every opponent, is really tough to come up against. I think we need to remain calm."
England at least showed some improvement in the second half of their 0-0 draw with Slovenia on Tuesday, with Kobbie Mainoo and Cole Palmer impressing off the bench.
While England's defence was a major concern ahead of the tournament with veterans such as Harry Maguire missing due to injury, it has been the best part of the team's Euro campaign. Through the group phase England have offered up the least expected goals (xG) - a measure of scoring chances granted to opponents.
Southgate will hope for a better performance from Jude Bellingham, who was excellent in the first half of their 1-0 win over Serbia, but drifted out of the two games since.
Slovakia are led by crafty Napoli midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, who Italian great Andrea Pirlo called the "best playmaker in the Italian league."
Calzona, who had been an assistant for his entire career before Slovakia appointed him boss in 2022, said his team had already reached their main goal of getting to the Euros. Everything else, he told UEFA, is "icing on the cake."
"One of the goals now will certainly be to play beautiful football and make these people proud, because we've had a great following at recent matches," he said.
Space will be at a premium for England against a Slovak side likely to sit back. Southgate's team have struggled against a low block.
England have history on their side. They have never lost to Slovakia with five wins, and one draw - a 0-0 result in the group stage at Euro 2016.
Slovakia had a solid Euro qualifying campaign with seven wins and a draw in 10 games, while England won six and drew two in a five-team group.
The winner will meet either Italy or Switzerland in the quarter-finals. (This story has been refiled to add a missing word in paragraph 5)
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Toby Chopra)
