England beat Slovakia in overtime, Spain crushed Georgia. How the Euro 2024 playoff matches went

The England and Spain national teams have become quarterfinalists of Euro 2024. This was reported by a correspondent of Lenta.ru. The English defeated the Slovaks and will play the Swiss national team in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal match will take place on July 6. In the other quarterfinal, which will take place on July 5, the Spanish, who defeated the Georgian national team, will meet the German national team.

England narrowly escape Euros after trailing until last minute of added time

The meeting against Slovakia took place on Sunday, June 30, at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen and ended with a score of 2:1 in favor of the English. The first goal was scored in the 25th minute by Slovakian striker Ivan Shrants. From a pass from David Strelets, the forward sent the ball into the lower left corner past English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

In the fifth and final minute of added time, England equalised through midfielder Jude Bellingham, who scored a spectacular overhead kick. In the first minute of extra time, forward Harry Kane put England ahead, heading in a pass from Ivan Toney. England maintained this advantage until the final whistle, despite determined attacks from the Slovaks.

England have never won the European Championship. At the last tournament, the team reached the final, where they lost to the Italian national team in the penalty shootout. England have reached the quarter-finals in four of the last five European Championships.

Slovakia last reached the Euro playoffs in 2016, defeating Russia in the group. At the previous continental championship, the team was eliminated after the group stage.

England head coach Gareth Southgate makes history

The team’s head coach Gareth Southgate became the first coach in the history of the England national team, who managed to lead the team to the quarter-finals of a major tournament (World Cup or European Championship) four times in a row. Previously, under him, England reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, the final of Euro 2020, and also the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.

After the match, Southgate said he was very proud of the players and the character they showed. He believed that each player played their part and helped the team reach the quarter-finals of the tournament. The coach added that the players always push each other and help each other, and this brought the English team the result.

The British were accused of disrespect for their opponent

After the match, a video went viral on social media showing Bellingham making an obscene gesture after scoring a goal. The footballer walked along the pitch with Kane, put his hand to his lips, and then lowered his hand to his groin area and waved it there, showing a spherical shape. Some interpreted the gesture as disrespectful towards the Slovak bench.

Bellingham justified his action, calling it a humorous gesture towards close friends who were present at the match. “I have nothing but respect for the way the Slovak team played today,” he wrote.

In addition, England midfielder Declan Rice insulted Slovakia head coach Francesco Calzona. British media write that an obscene address was made to the specialist after the final whistle. The reason was that the coach rushed to voice complaints to the judges.

Calzona, in turn, accused the England team of stalling for time. “They were afraid of us, we deserved to go on,” he said. The coach also expressed pride in his team’s performance. He drew attention to the fact that the Slovaks spent half of the extra time on the opponent’s side of the field.

Spain reached the quarter-finals of the Euro, defeating Georgia

The match took place at the Rhein-Energie Stadium in Cologne and ended with a score of 4:1 in favor of the Spaniards. In the 18th minute, the Georgians took the lead after an own goal by Robin Le Normand. The ball bounced off the player’s stomach and into the net.

By the end of the first half, the Spaniards had recovered from this unfortunate setback and went on the attack. It is noteworthy that all the goals against the Georgian team were scored by midfielders. In the 39th minute, Rodri equalized the score by scoring into the bottom corner. In the 51st minute, Fabian Ruiz scored. In the 75th minute, Nico Williams scored a goal with a shot under the crossbar. In the 83rd minute, Dani Olmo set the final score of the match.

The Spanish national team is one of the most titled teams in the history of the European Football Championships. Of the 17 tournaments held, the team took part in ten, winning three times. The last time the Spaniards lifted the trophy over their heads was in 2012.

Georgia played in the European Championship for the first time in its history and reached the playoffs of the tournament for the first time. The team received more than 10 million dollars for its results.

16-year-old Spaniard Yamal repeated Ronaldo’s achievement

Spanish midfielder Lamin Yamal scored an assist in the match against the Georgian national team. The 16-year-old midfielder, for whom this assist was the second of the tournament, repeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s achievement at the European Championships. After the Portuguese, Yamal became the second young footballer who managed to make several assists at the Euro.

In addition, the Spanish winger became the youngest player to provide an assist in the European Championship playoffs.