ENGLAND avoided an upset try by Slovakia with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory in the Euro 2024 round-of-16 on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines) at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsernkirchen, Germany.
Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane scored a goal each late in the game to negate the 25th-minute conversion for Slovakia’s Ivan Schranz as the move on to the quarterfinals against Switzerland.
Bellingham converted a tough overhead kick targeting the bottom corner of the box in the fifth minute of the six-minute injury time to tie the score at 1-1 and send the match into extra time.
âI think it was 30 or 20 seconds until we were out of the European Championship,â Bellingham said during his Man of the Match interview. âItâs hard to deny that it was one of the most important moments of my career so far.â
England quickly got the 2-1 lead in the opening minute of extension as Kane drilled a header past the defense of Slovakia, enough to secure the comeback win.
âItâs knockout football and anything is possible,â said England head coach Gareth Southgate. âI had a funny feeling the game wasnât dead and I know that sounds ridiculous. We were pushing and probing until the end.”
Meanwhile, Spain also moved on to the round-of-eight of the competition following a 4-1 victory against Georgia in their knockout game at the Cologne Stadium in Cologne, Germany.
After an own goal violation by Spain’s Robin Le Normand in the 18th minute that gave Georgia a 1-0 lead, the Spaniards quickly tied the score at 1-1 on a 37th minute conversion by Rodri.
Spain took the lead early in the second half after a 51st-minute hit by Fabian Ruiz before Nico Williams and Dani Olmo wrapped up the victory with a conversion each.
The Spaniards will next battle host Germany, a 2-0 winner over Denmark on Saturday, in the quarterfinals round on July 6 (Philippine time)./PN
