Euro 2024: England comes back from far behind, Spain briefly doubts

Little Thumbs scared the ogres on Sunday & Euro-2024: there was no shortage of than a minute &agrav; Slovakia to eliminate England and Georgia was defeated. the first team in this tournament lead face &agrav; Spain.

The day after Switzerland eliminated Italy, the reigning European champion, England, victorious over Slovakia in extra time (2-1), and Spain, finally too strong for Georgia (4-1), won their tickets to the quarter-finals, but it was far from being a formality.

It took a return as desperate as it is acrobatic by Jude Belligham, until then clumsy like the rest of his teammates, at the start of the last minute of added time so that the “Three Lions”, trailing since the 25th minute, equalize.

English captain Harry Kane scores the winning goal against Slovakia (2-1) in the round of 16 of Euro-2024 on June 30, 2024 in Gelsenkirchen © AFP – KENZO TRIBOUILLARD

And from the start of extra time, Harry Kane knocked out the courageous and eye-catching Slovaks (91st) with a header.

England, 2021 European vice-champion, can continue to dream of their first major title since 1966, but “we know that our level of play will have to be higher”, admitted their coach, Gareth Southgate.< /p>

After a laborious first round, Southgate, much criticized, decided to launch the electric Kobbie Mainoo.

But the 19-year-old attacking midfielder, like the more experienced Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Kane, credited with a total of 114 goals this club season, has long struggled with the compact Slovak block.

– A Spain-Germany clash in the quarter –

On one of his rare forays into the English area in the 25th minute, Ivan Schranz had scored what could have been the most important goal in the history of Slovak football, before the English surge.

England, 4th in the 2018 World Cup, will face Switzerland on July 6 in Dusseldorf, which gave Italy a lesson in realism (2-0) on Saturday.

Unsurprisingly, the rout of the Italians is a national drama: the Sunday press speaks of “a shame”, “a disaster”, “a bankruptcy”…

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Italian coach Luciano Spalletti, confirmed in his role despite the elimination of his team in the round of 16, during a press conference on June 30, 2024 in Iserlohn © AFP – Alberto PIZZOLI

Despite this elimination which comes after failures to qualify for the last two editions of the World Cup (2018, 2022), the president of the Italian Federation Gabriele Gravina confirmed the coach in his functions on Sunday Luciano Spalletti.

“This match (lost to Switzerland 2-0) brought us back to zero, we'll start from there, I'm going to continue to rejuvenate our group”, however warned Spalletti.

In the other meeting of the day, in Cologne, Spain, exiting the group stage with the maximum nine points, experienced its first difficulties.

Georgia, as enthusiastic as ever for its first major tournament, played equal and even better with La Roja until the break.

The team led by Willy Sagnol took the advantage when Robin Le Normand propelled the ball into his own goal (18th) while trying to prevent the Georgian striker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to take back a center.

Spaniard Nico Williams after his goal against Georgia, beaten 4-1 by Spain in the 8th finals of Euro 2024 on June 30, 2024 in Cologne © AFP – Tobias SCHWARZ

After a quarter of an hour of doubt, Rodri brought the two teams back to level (39th), before his team clearly took the upper hand in the second half in pouring rain with goals from Fabian Ruiz (51st), Nico Williams (75th) and Dani Olmo (83rd).

It is now Germany, the other exciting team in this tournament, who await Spain in the quarter-finals on Friday in Stuttgart for a quarter-final that looks like a final.

– “We have no doubts” –

On the eve of their reunion with their best Belgian enemies, the Blues have travelled to Düsseldorf where they will play their round of 16 match on Monday (6pm).

“We have no doubts but we will have to capitalise on the opportunities,” assured captain Kylian Mbappé in reference to a laborious first phase during which his team only scored two goals, one against his own side by an Austrian defender and the other on a penalty against Poland.

“We are not favourites,” acknowledged Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco, who will be without his defender Thomas Meunier, who has a thigh injury.

But as England and Italy have seen, the favorite status does not give any guarantee in this Euro which is shaking up the continental hierarchy.

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