Key events
18.4m people watch England’s win on ITV
The figures are in folks and it turns out ITV landed the biggest television audience on any UK channel for 18 months with a peak of 18.4m people watching England’s extra-time victory against Slovakia across ITV1 and ITVX on all devices. Among them, were Glastonbury festival goers, getting in on the action via their mobile phones.
And those who got to see the match on Louis Tomlinson’s telly, of course.
So what does England’s manager make of the Swiss challenge that awaits England in Saturday’s quarter-final?
We’re not naive. We’re going to play a team that have looked outstanding, not just in this tournament but for quite a while as well. That’s going to be a big tactical challenge for us. We know that the level of our game will need to be higher, but there was a spirit and there was a togetherness that has been building. We’ve had a lot of problems to solve through this whole lead into the camp, through the tournament. We’re putting a plaster over different things and giving young players opportunities. We’re somehow finding a way. I can imagine how everybody is going to react to that, even though we’ve won. But we’re still in there and the one thing that can’t be questioned is the desire, the commitment, the character.”
It seems that leaving early was among the worst of the crimes committed by England’s generally well-behaved supporters yesterday. This from PA Media.
England fans have again been praised for their good behaviour as just four arrests were made in connection with the team’s Euro 2024 last-16 match against Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen. The UK Football Policing Unit confirmed on Monday morning that three people were arrested for obstructing police and abusing stewards at Sunday’s match, while a fourth was detained for fighting in the stadium. “No major issues were reported yesterday with continued good behaviour from the vast majority of England fans in Gelsenkirchen,” the UKFPU said in its statement. England came from a goal down to beat Slovakia 2-1 and book their passage to the quarter-finals, where they will take on Switzerland in Dusseldorf on Saturday.
A bit of domestic football news. We all know how the big fish in football these days are those top, top suited sporting directors.
Let’s have another look at Portugal, then. I thought they were impressive in their first two games but then came the 2-0 defeat by Georgia. Was that a blip because they made eight changes or the beginning of a meltdown? I’d put it down to a dip in performance on the back of so many changes. Ronaldo should have been rested and he remains a problem because he appears to be un-restable for whoever manages him.
I find it interesting that he’s now being coached by Roberto Martínez, who is a curious manager for me. He seems tactically astute and flexible but it is still hard to know what his overall style is and he is often derided as a bit of a joke. Perhaps because he is versatile he can’t be pigeonholed. He certainly seems to have given Portugal freedom to attack in this tournament and the talent at his disposal is incredible.
If he goes on to win the Euros (and they are on the tough side of the draw) it would be an incredible achievement for him and a shot back at his critics. There’s also a wonderful story in his coaching ranks, too. Anthony Barry, his 38-year-old scouse assistant, was a journeyman lower-league midfielder who has had a pinch-me progression through his coaching career to the point that he is now overseeing sessions coaching Ronaldo and co.
Let’s revisit the mailbag again.
The accidental 3-5-2 we stumbled upon yesterday actually looks quite appealing:
Pickford
Walker, Stones, Konsa
Eze, Bellingham, Rice, Mainoo, Saka
Kane, Toney
Obviously we won’t play that though and the only change will be Dunk for Guehi. Can’t wait.” Graeme Harley
People have not grasped Southgate’s tactics are influenced greatly by the philosophy of General Melchett. Namely that you should persist with tactics that have failed very badly for 3.5 full games, on the basis that it is the last thing that the opposition will expect him to do. We should applaud such ingenuity.” Vic Rushton
I wonder how the mailbag would have looked if England had lost?
“Southgate [snip] should [snip] because [snip, snip, snippety snip] and I’ll tell you what [sniiiiiiiiiiiip].” I’m grateful for Jude’s goal.
Throw your (£6 a pint) beer in the air like you just don’t care.
So, who will win Euro 2024? Spain will. Well, so says Georgia and Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
I think Spain are the favourites for this tournament and they will become champions. It’s a pity that we met this team, but it’s OK, it’s not the end. We will come back stronger. Of course, it’s sad that we lost in the round of 16, but we should also be happy about it, because not long ago we couldn’t have imagined that we would reach this far.
The impressive 23-year-old has been linked with a £35m move to Liverpool in some media outlets. Oh yes, let’s not forget the transfer window is open.
Mbappé concerned Belgium will target his broken nose
Kylian Mbappé is worried that his tender nose will be targeted by Belgium in the last-16 tie and told reporters that he has struggled to adapt to wearing a mask, finding it similar to looking through “3D glasses”. Here’s the report from Reuters:
France captain Kylian Mbappé will not be surprised if his broken nose is targeted in a tough physical battle against neighbours Belgium in the last 16 at the European Championship in Duesseldorf on Monday but is prepared to push through the pain. Mbappé broke his nose at the start of the tournament but returned for France’s final Group D game, and scored, in the 1-1 draw against Poland, wearing a mask he described as “annoying”.
“I think that if you’re playing with a broken nose and you haven’t had your nose operated yet, you’re a target,” he told a press conference on Sunday. “I knew what I was signing up for when I decided that I wasn’t going to go home and that I wasn’t going to get the operation done and that I was going to play. And maybe I’ll get muscled a little bit and it might hurt. But I’m ready to give everything I can for this jersey and to help France go as far as possible. If this means that someone’s going to hit my nose, so be it. It’s already broken.”
Mbappé, speaking to the media for the first time since the injury, said he initially feared he might miss the rest of the tournament. “When I got the blow to the face, I didn’t really understand what was going on. I didn’t feel that my nose was broken. It was when I looked at the goalkeeper and I saw his face and I thought ‘something’s wrong here’,” he said.
“When I got back to the dressing room, with everything that was happening around me, I thought that I was going home. Initially, it was difficult for me because there was a lot of information, lots of appointments, I didn’t really sleep that much. I spent two nights without sleeping. And it was really difficult to sit on the bench against the Netherlands (during France’s second group game) knowing that you’re incapable of helping. I felt quite helpless. But, thankfully, I was able to play against Poland.”
Mbappé said, however, he was battling to adapt to wearing a mask, having been spotted at various training sessions, and in the last game, with at least five different versions. “Actually it’s awful, horrible playing with a mask. I keep changing masks because every time there’s something that bothers me, there’s something that’s not quite right. It’s quite difficult to play with a mask because it limits your field of vision, your sweat clogs up. The first few days I felt like I was wearing 3D glasses. As soon as I can get rid of that mask, I will. But now I don’t have a choice. I can’t play without it. I hate it. It’s really annoying and I’ve changed it more than five times. But I’m not making excuses because this is the only way I can play.”
How refreshing were Georgia at the Euros? Without the ball they were like Big Sam’s Bolton, compact and drilled. With it they were like Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool (circa 2019-22), a counter-attacking dragster. We’ll miss The Crusaders. Here’s what head coach Willy Sagnol had to say after the 4-1 defeat by Spain:
We are so happy and proud of what we have done the last days, the last weeks. Sometimes you have to step back and take a look at what you have done. We can sit in peace and quiet and everyone and be very happy of the last year because the development of the team and squad has been fantastic. I am very proud of that.
He also revealed that his star player, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, should follow his heart amid rumours he is about to make the switch from Napoli to PSG.
If he wants to, he should go. If it’s Napoli or Paris or whatever, I just want him to be happy and to still play with a lot of emotions, because that is how he gets so fantastic. I just wish him all the best in his career.”
Mind you, Georges Mikautadze was brilliant wasn’t he? The turbo-charged Metz forward will no doubt attract a lot of interest this summer. He still leads the Golden Boot chart along with Germany’s Jamal Musiala and Slovakia’s Ivan Schranz.
Austria take on Turkey tomorrow evening in The Battle of the Dark Horses ™ – and Nick Ames reckons Ralf Rangnick’s boys are benefitting from the togetherness and confidence inspired by the Red Bull empire.
Much like a 1990s magazine TV show, let’s dip into the mailbag for a moment:
Southgate seems to be applying a very results oriented analysis to defend his use of two (OK three but one was in the 94th min) substitutes in a team that had one shot on target in 90 minutes against Slovakia? Has anybody asked him what he thought would happen if he had subbed three players on at 60 mins? He seems very reassured that this was the right decision because it worked once, by the skin of his teeth. Seems he doesn’t really understand what a game he/they just played, and what could have happened if he had made changes earlier.” Thomas Krantz
It’s all very well [England] blaming fans and journalists and so on, but they are (mostly) just stating the obvious. It is a massive struggle to watch the back four play the ball back and forth between each other, completely unable to advance it to this mythical (for Southgate) place called midfield, waiting for one of them to inevitably screw up with a misplaced hospital pass. Southgate appears oblivious and unmoved by this and thus requiring of some sort of intervention (which will not happen).” Ben N
You mentioned the John Barnes overhead kick which seemed placed. Marco van Basten also scored a peach for Milan once. He 100% placed it with the instep. Maybe it should be best ever overhead kick mailbox day?” Danny Stephens
Let’s look ahead to the big match today: France v Belgium. Much like England, neither nation has clicked in their campaign to date. Jonathan Wilson reckons the man in the mask may be the reason for Les Bleus’ ponderous performances at times.
Meanwhile, Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco just wants his team to be braver and understands the flak his team has been getting. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?
From the very beginning, we want to be brave, we want to start this game with a strong belief. We worked on this belief the last two or three days, because if there is no belief, there is nothing. So we have to believe and everybody knows that we need a really, really top, top game. The fans [who have been critical] are allowed to do anything, you know, if they have emotions if they have some thoughts … they can express what they feel. It’s no problem, it’s a fan that is paying a lot of money for a ticket. So it’s okay, but it’s also okay I think for a team then to be disappointed because we were qualified.”
Sky Sports News journalist Kaveh Solhekol is giving an impassioned defence of the criticism that has been levelled at England’s performances after Bellingham called the media’s response to their displays “rubbish”. I can see both sides. Solhekol is saying he thinks it has been “fair and balanced” whereas Bellingham has defended the squad for the effort they put in every day and the sacrifices they make. I’m sure every England player is giving everything and it just isn’t flowing so it probably does feel unfair when you get criticised despite working your socks off. And I suppose results show England have got to the last eight again – the only England team to do this four times in a row at major tournaments – so that must grate. But if they play the same way against Switzerland they will be out. Maybe the huge let-off against Slovakia will be the catalyst for a more zippy performance from start to finish. Some ice baths will be required between now and Saturday, however, and probably some changes in the starting XI.
When I saw Bellingham’s overhead kick my mind wandered back to a similar goal, scored by John Barnes, back in the mid-90s. Perhaps because it was from a similar distance out and directed into the corner.
I wonder how different England’s performances would have been if Rodri had been born in Basingstoke? The Manchester City midfielder’s cold-blooded strength and passing accuracy meant that Spain never erred even after going behind to Georgia in Cologne last night and motored along to a 4-1 comeback victory. His equaliser wasn’t bad either. Jonathan Wilson describes him brilliantly.
Nothing in football is certain, but Rodri is perhaps as close as it’s possible to get. There are times when it seems he is the teacher stepping in to a kids’ game to make sure it doesn’t become too one-sided, the grown-up who doesn’t have to bother with the things like running. He just strolls about, delivering accurate pass after accurate pass and, occasionally, scoring vital goals.
Continue reading here.
Spare a thought for those England fans who left early. Though perhaps that empty tram made the premature exit worthwhile.
Here’s what Southgate had to say about his now wonderfully effective touchline inaction.
The two players who get the goals, you could arguably take off 15 minutes from the end because they looked out on their feet, but that is what they are capable of. Harry and Jude, you are looking and thinking: ‘Should we be refreshing those positions?’ But you know they are capable of doing what they did. When people want changes, you have to keep some balance to the team and do things you think will definitely improve. I think pretty much all the changes we have made this tournament have had an impact.”
And John Stones has – and stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before – implored his England teammates to “take the handbrake off”.
What a game, what a way for us to get through. It was not the way that we wanted to but I think the fight, the desire …that people wanted to see from us at home, from people in the stands – that fight for the shirt, for everyone that’s come out to support us was there and more. That’s what’s got us through, we didn’t play the best and that is down to us, which is frustrating. But I hope now, coming through such a tough time and doing things, taking risks with the ball, we can implement that now and kind of take the handbrake off in some senses to let our quality show.”
Preamble
Morning. So Harry Kane said England would “trust the process” against Slovakia. Was 95 minutes of constipation followed by two minutes of rapid relief the process? Something’s got to change, huh? A lot of criticism was levelled at Gareth Southgate for not being more bold with his substitutions but, on this occasion, not withdrawing Jude Bellingham worked a treat, with the ridiculously talented youngster finding a way – Real Madrid-style – with a sublime overhead kick to fashion a late escape. England face impressive Switzerland on Saturday in the quarter-finals and will need to improve immeasurably to progress to the last four. But for now, let’s look back on a dramatic night with some fine writing from David Hytner, Barney Ronay, Jonathan Liew and Paul MacInnes.
Spain, too, had an early scare against Georgia but they soon made it look like a nothing more than a hiccup as they raced away in the second half to send the funtime underdogs home with a 4-1 victory and two fine displays from Nico Williams and Yamine Lamal.
We have two more last-16 ties later on, with the mouthwatering prospect of France v Belgium at 5pm and then Portugal v Slovenia at 8pm. You can check out all of our Euro 2024 coverage here.