July 1 – Gareth Southgate and his players can talk all they like about togetherness and spirit. But there was only one way to sum up England’s last-gasp win over Slovakia that avoided the ultimate humiliation: The Great Escape.
England reached the quarter-finals of a major tournament for a fourth consecutive time under Southgate but Sunday’s 2-1 win owed more to good fortune than good play.
A moment of individual brilliance by Jude Bellingham and a Harry Kane header came in a two-minute spell at the end of stoppage time and the start of extra time. For the most part beforehand, England laboured and lacked ideas.
No-one can gloss over the deficiencies. Save for the first 45 minutes in their opening game against Serbia, England have looked anything but convincing despite all their individual talents and now take on a Swiss team who are riding the crest of a wave.
“The spirit that they have got us over the line today,” admitted Southgate. “Clearly in the first half, we struggled to get through their pressure. We were too slow moving the ball and they were very compact in their midfield. And that’s not the first time we’ve had that problem.
“And, you know, we created a super goal that ends up being disallowed, which is again a huge momentum shift at that time, the shot that hits the post.”
With central defender Marc Guehi having to miss the quarterfinal because of two bookings, Southgate must now juggle his pack at the back – already a problem with no left-footed fullback. Why on earth was Luke Shaw selected in the first place if he is still unfit?
“We want to be better, I’m not going to hide from that,” said Southgate in what has become a familiar refrain. “But the spirit and the character was there for everybody to see and we’re still in there fighting.
“Everybody, I’m sure, will still quite understandably be questioning our performances. I understand that. But we’ve got some qualities that have kept us in this. And that’s not to be underestimated. I’m so proud of how the players have stuck together. And the leadership they’ve shown,” he continued.
“We’re now going into play a team that have looked outstanding, not just in this tournament, but for quite a while as well. So that’s going to be a big tactical challenge for us. We know that the level of our game will need to be higher.”
As for Slovakia, the heartbreak and pain of having the greatest day in football history snatched away in the blink of an eye was there for all to see.
“We needed 30 seconds and could celebrate, but that’s soccer, I’m speechless,” said Slovakia captain Milan Škriniar whose side had already taken down Belgium in the group stage.
“They scored a goal from a player who is valued at €100 million. This was a team worth €1.5 billion. You concede just half a metre and you will get punished,” added Slovakia’s Italian coach Francesco Calzona.
“The disappointment is huge but I feel more pride than disappointment. Tonight we played against the team that many consider favourites to win the tournament. We were very close to making it, to qualifying for the quarterfinals and it disappeared with a few seconds to go. My team showed a lot of quality; we were really good, we conceded very little, and we came very close to qualifying.
“We didn’t fall apart in extra time. In fact we spent 30 minutes in their half, and it’s a source of pride to see that a team like that brought in defenders and defensive midfielders just to get a result.”
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