England 2-1 Slovakia: Player ratings as Three Lions pull off stunning comeback
A sloppy England pulled off a miraculous comeback to keep their Euro 2024 hopes alive, beating Slovakia 2-1 after extra time on Sunday.
Ivan Schranz’s first-half strike looked to have fired Slovakia to a deserved victory before Jude Bellingham’s overhead kick deep in second half stoppage time sent the game to extra time, where Harry Kane headed the Three Lions to the ugliest of victories.
A win is a win, however, and England can now regroup ahead of their quarter-final clash with Switzerland.
How the game unfolded
Unlike the Slovenia game, there was some life to England in the opening stages. Bukayo Saka had a half-sight of goal early on, before Kieran Trippier ballooned an effort over the bar ten minutes in.
Slovakia looked to cause problems on the counter and Lukas Haraslin managed to get in behind Kyle Walker down the right, only for Marc Guehi to pull out a lunging block to repel the winger’s shot on goal.
That chance seemed to unnerve England, who began to look lethargic in attack and even looked uncharacteristically shaky in defence.
With England failing to find their footing, Slovakia took the lead 25 minutes in. Guehi found himself caught out at the back and Schranz made the most of some space in behind to fire past Jordan Pickford and put the underdogs ahead.
Slovakia sat deep to defend their lead and, as the clock ticked on, England looked as though they had no idea how to turn the tide before the half-time whistle put fans out of their misery.
England are behind against Slovakia… 😳#Euro2024 | #ENGSVK pic.twitter.com/B7P5KLvQd6— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 30, 2024
Phil Foden thought he had tapped home an equaliser five minutes after the restart, but a quick VAR check showed the Manchester City midfielder had wandered offside and the goal was chalked off.
Slovakia nearly scored from the half-way line after a lapse in concentration from John Stones but, while England did regain their composure after that fright, they fell straight back into their predictable, lethargic ways.
78 minutes in and England were still waiting for their first shot on target. Not only should Kane have tested Martin Dubravka with a header, but he should have been wheeling away in celebration, but the captain inexplicably sent his effort well wide of the post.
Declan Rice struck the frame of the goal from the edge of the box as the game entered its final ten minutes, and in the final minute of six added on, England’s first shot on target arrived in spectacular fashion.
Bellingham, who had been otherwise anonymous, popped up with a sensational bicycle kick to send the game to extra time.
52 seconds after the restart, and England were ahead.
Kane drifted in at the back post to collect a flick-on from Ivan Toney, thundering home a header from close range to send the England fans into raptures. They held from there, booking a place in the last eight against Switzerland, who beat holders Italy 2-0 on Saturday.
England player ratings (4-2-3-1)
Kane & Bellingham came to the rescue / Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/GettyImages
GK: Jordan Pickford – 5/10 – Hardly involved aside from picking the ball out the back of his net.
RB: Kyle Walker – 4/10 – Sloppy defensively and anonymous in attack. Deserves credit for two smart defensive moments deep into extra time.
CB: John Stones – 4/10 – Pulled around by Slovakia’s forwards when they got on the attack. Bailed out by Guehi on occasion.
CB: Marc Guehi – 5/10 – More composed than anyone in England’s back line, even though he had to play on a tightrope after an early yellow card.
LB: Kieran Trippier – 3/10 – A really sloppy start led to Guehi’s booking. Continued to look uncomfortable on the left and did little aside from firing in the same cross time after time. Limped off injured.
DM: Kobbie Mainoo – 6/10 – A notable spark in England’s midfield. One of very few sources of creativity when on the ball. Seemed determined to score a screamer as well.
DM: Declan Rice – 5/10 – Not adventurous enough with the ball at his feet. Needed to take more risks in possession. Struck the post with a nice strike late on.
RM: Bukayo Saka – 5/10 – Had a handful of bright moments down the right, particularly early on, but struggled once England started to slow down. Dropped back to left-back for the final 30 minutes.
AM: Jude Bellingham – 5/10 – Really poor before his goal but flashed the sort of technical quality fans have been waiting for to send the game to extra time.
LM: Phil Foden – 4/10 – Yet another uncomfortable showing out on the left wing. Drifted inside too often, leaving England far too one-dimensional yet again.
ST: Harry Kane – 5/10 – Frustrated for the entirety of normal time and, after missing a glorious header late in the second, popped up with the crucial goal to steer England to victory.
Substitutes
SUB: Cole Palmer (66′ for Trippier) – 5/10 – Tried to get England ticking with a change of pace but wasn’t as effective as he was against Slovenia.
SUB: Eberechi Eze (84′ for Mainoo) – 7/10 – Injected some life into England’s attack and played a key role in Kane’s winner.
SUB: Ivan Toney (90′ for Foden) – 7/10 – A physical presence throughout his half-hour cameo, Toney bagged the vital assist for Kane.
SUB: Conor Gallagher (105′ for Kane) – 6/10
SUB: Ezri Konsa (105′ for Bellingham) – 6/10
Subs not used: Aaron Ramsdale (GK), Dean Henderson (GK), Joe Gomez, Lewis Dunk, Luke Shaw, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Adam Wharton, Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, Ollie Watkins.
Manager
Gareth Southgate – 3/10 – Declined to take a risk with his starting lineup and then waited an entire 84 minutes before making a substitution that wasn’t injury-enforced. Somehow, that hesitancy was not fatal.
Slovakia player ratings (4-3-3)
Hancko dealt with Saka well / Clive Mason/GettyImages
GK: Martin Dubravka – 5/10 – Rarely tested by a tame England attack until a late flurry left him scratching his head.
RB: Peter Pekarik – 6/10 – Never looked under any real pressure from either Foden or Trippier.
CB: Denis Vavro – 6/10 – Looked almost impenetrable for the entirety of normal time but just couldn’t keep up with Kane when it mattered most.
CB: Milan Skriniar – 6/10 – Aside from a nasty challenge on Bellingham which earned him a yellow card, Skriniar looked happy trying to repel England’s constant crosses.
LB: David Hancko – 7/10 – Saka made him work hard but Hancko, a natural centre-back, enjoyed the challenge and undoubtedly came out on top.
DM: Stanislav Lobotka – 7/10 – Sat deep and controlled things on both sides of the ball. Always looking to get his side moving forwards.
CM: Juraj Kucka – 6/10 – Worked hard to frustrate England’s midfielders in the first half but clearly grew tired shortly after the restart. Probably lucky to avoid a second booking.
CM: Ondrej Duda – 7/10 – Like Lobotka, took on an important role in both defence and attack. A nice, well-rounded performance.
RW: Ivan Schranz – 7/10 – Didn’t get too many chances to work his magic in attack but made the most of his opportunity by slotting beyond Pickford.
ST: David Strelec – 6/10 – A smart assist for Schranz’s goal. Had to feed off scraps but did so willingly.
LW: Lukas Haraslin – 6/10 – Saw plenty of space in behind Walker in the opening stages but was hooked on the hour mark when Slovakia needed fresh legs.
Substitutes
SUB: Tomas Suslov (61′ for Haraslin) – 6/10
SUB: Robert Bozenik (61′ for Strelec) – 5/10
SUB: Matus Bero (81′ for Kukca) – 5/10
SUB: Laszlo Benes (81′ for Duda) – 5/10
SUB: Norbert Gyomber (90′ for Schranz) – 5/10
SUB: Lubomir Tupta (109′ for Pekarik) – N/A
Subs not used: Henrich Ravas (GK), Marek Rodak (GK), Adam Obert, Sebastian Kosa, Vernon De Marco, Patrik Hrosovsky, Tomas Rigo, David Duris, Leo Sauer
Manager
Francesco Calzona – 6/10 – It wasn’t pretty from Slovakia, but Calzona set his side up to frustrate a team that everyone knew would struggle to break down a deep block. Could easily argue his side should have won this.
Player of the match – David Hancko (Slovakia)
