Slovakia head coach Francesco Calzona claims England have the potential to become “unbeatable” as the two sides prepare to face off in Sunday’s Euro 2024 last-16 tie.
Slovakia manager Francesco Calzona has warned that England have the potential to be “unbeatable” ahead of Sunday’s Euro 2024 last-16 clash.
The Three Lions picked up five points in the group stage, beating Serbia 1-0 before playing out draws against Denmark and Slovenia.
England may have advanced to the last 16 as group winners, but their underwhelming performances produced more questions than answers.
Gareth Southgate is still struggling to figure out his best lineup, particularly in midfield where he has used Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Gallagher and Kobbie Mainoo as partners to Declan Rice.
The Three Lions have also appeared to be an unbalanced side, with Kieran Trippier forced to play left-back in the absence of Manchester United’s Luke Shaw.
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Calzona believes England can be “unbeatable”
Although England are yet to reach their top level, Calzona insists they will be tough to stop once they finally hit top gear.
“Once England produce a great performance as a team at this tournament they will become unbeatable,” Calzona told reporters at Saturday’s pre-match press conference.
“They have a top-quality squad, the best squad of these Euros. They have physicality, technique and creativity. They were even able to leave quality players at home because they have so much to pick from.
”We need to make the most of any weak points they have, but we must always be cautious because this is a team that can punish you at every moment. If we talk about the quality of the two squads it is clear that we are inferior. They are worth €1.5bn (£127bn). We are worth about €150m (£127m). So we are 10 times less than them.”
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Slovakia to continue with offensive approach
While he acknowledges the talent at Southgate’s disposal, Calzona insists his team will stick with their attacking style for Sunday’s last-16 tie in Gelsenkirchen.
“I am lucky because I have a very focused team who want to play offensively,” Calzona said. “We must be defensively sound, we must care about the details, but I trust my players. Until now they have given us a lot of satisfaction in terms of performance and behaviour.
“We have our own style of play, I don’t want to change the mentality of my team. We might make some adjustments but without changing what we’ve done so far because that means I would have to change the head of my players who like this kind of football. There will be some adjustment but nothing dramatic.”
Slovakia began the tournament with a surprise 1-0 win over Belgium, before losing to Ukraine and drawing with Romania in their final group game.
The Falcons finished level on four points with the three other teams in their group, securing third spot ahead of Ukraine due to their favourable goal difference.
Having sealed a place in the last 16, Slovakia will now attempt to progress to the quarter-finals of a major tournament for the first time as an independent nation.
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