- Gareth Southgate’s England will face Slovakia in the last 16 on Sunday night
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England will face Slovakia in the last 16 of Euro 2024 after the group stage of the tournament concluded on Wednesday night.
Heading into Wednesday’s match, it looked likely that England would face the Netherlands, but Georgia’s shock 2-0 victory against Portugal changed all that.
The European minnows took the lead after just two minutes through star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and doubled their advantage through a Georges Mikautadze penalty 12 minutes after the break.
Portugal tried to get back into the match but could not find a breakthrough on a famous night for Georgian football.
He also appears to have done England a favor as the Three Lions now avoid the Netherlands and face the third-placed team in Group E.
England’s possible path to the Euro final has already been revealed
Gareth Southgate’s England will face Slovakia in the round of 16 of Euro 2024 on Sunday
Georgia pulled off a stunning upset against Portugal on Wednesday night to ensure England avoided the Netherlands in the last 16.
Slovakia reached the last 16 after drawing 1-1 with Romania earlier in the day, and will be England’s next opponents.
That’s Slovakia after earning a 1-1 draw against Romania earlier in the day to book their place in the round of 16.
England now have ideal potential to reach the final, with France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and hosts Germany on the opposite side of the draw.
If Gareth Southgate’s men beat Slovakia on Sunday night, they will have a quarter-final tie with defending champions Italy or Switzerland.
They could then face Ralf Rangnick’s impressive Austria in the quarter-finals after topping Group D ahead of France and the Netherlands.
A final against one of Europe’s heavyweights could then await, as England aim to improve on their performance from three years ago, when they lost to Italy on penalties in the final at Wembley.
However, they will have to considerably improve their results in the group stage, after three disappointing performances so far in Germany.
England beat Serbia 1-0 in their first match before drawing with Denmark and Slovenia.
Fans were left frustrated with England’s performances, with plastic beer cups thrown at Southgate as he went to applaud the traveling contingent on Tuesday night after the dreadful draw with Slovenia.
Southgate admitted he expects a lot more from his team but could hardly have asked for a kinder draw to settle things.
He now has big decisions to make in his starting XI to face Slovakia after receiving heavy criticism for his team’s selection in the tournament so far.
Anthony Gordon (left) and Cole Palmer (right) are pushing to start in the round of 16.
Southgate still needs to figure out how to get the best out of Jude Bellingham (left) and Phil Foden (right)
Kobbie Mainoo, Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon are pushing to start after impressing off the bench against Slovenia, while Southgate still needs to figure out how to get the best out of Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden.
Former England striker Alan Shearer insisted changes must be made for the last-16 tie, and Southgate must now decide whether to make minor adjustments or radical alterations to finally put his team ahead.