WATCH: England fall behind to unfancied Slovakia in Euro 2024 last 16
Ivan Schranz gave Slovakia the lead against England in the last 16 of Euro 2024 with his third goal of the tournament
Ivan Schranz punished England for yet another lacklustre showing midway through the first half of their round of 16 clash against Slovakia on Sunday.
The forward registered his third goal of the tournament after Slovakia sent the England defence scrambling with a short passing move, with Marc Guehi having to pull out of gambling on a tackle having picked up a yellow card just three minutes into the game.
That was no less than England deserved having allowed Slovakia to put them under pressure in the early stages of the game.
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Ivan Schranz stuns lacklustre England with Slovakia opener
Slavia Prague's Schranz had previously hit the net against Belgium and Ukraine, and made no mistake as he raced in behind the England defence to put a composed finish past Jordan Pickford.
Slovakia now have their sights set on their first European Championships quarter-final as an independent nation. They had previously reached this stage at Euro 2016 before falling to Germany.
Gareth Southgate made one change to his side, bringing in Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo in place of Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher, with the other ten players all making it four starts out of four at Euro 2024.
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England are behind against Slovakia... 😳#Euro2024 | #ENGSVK pic.twitter.com/B7P5KLvQd6June 30, 2024
The England manager will have been hoping that change could help spark his side into a more convincing performance as they entered the knockout stages - but Schranz's goal effectively confirmed fans' worst fears.
England reached the Euro 2020 final but lost out to Italy in a penalty shootout at Wembley.
The possibility of a rematch in the quarter-finals this year was taken off the table after the Italians were deservedly eliminated by Switzerland in Saturday’s teatime kick-off - and England may well yet suffer a similar fate.
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Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.