England midfielder Jude Bellingham (Picture: YouTube)
Jude Bellingham was somehow the last to know England would be playing Slovakia in the last-16 round of Euro 2024.
The Three Lions advanced to the knockout stages of the Euros as Group C winners despite three underwhelming performances against Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia.
Gareth Southgate’s side, who finished as runners-up at the last European Championship, laboured to a 1-0 win over Serbia in their tournament opener before being held to a 1-1 draw by Denmark and a goalless draw by Slovenia.
It appeared as though England would face the Netherlands in the last-16 but results on Wednesday night means they will now take on Slovakia for a place in the quarter-finals.
Slovakia progressed as one of the best third-placed teams, having caused an upset against Belgium in their opening game before losing to Ukraine and drawing with Romania.
England’s last-16 opponent was news to Bellingham, who admitted he was unaware who the Three Lions were playing until Josh Denzel asked about the threat of Slovakia on an episode of the Lions Den on England’s social media channels.
‘All eyes on Sunday now,’ Denzel said to Bellingham and England team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold. ‘We’re playing Slovakia, how we feeling about it?’
Bellingham responded: ‘I didn’t know [who we were playing] until you just said.
‘But you’re always going to have tough games at this stage of the tournament. People will see it’s Slovakia and think it will be an easy game but that’s definitely not the case.
‘They will pose a different kind of threat and be hard to break down. When you play teams who come at you a bit more it can be a bit more open.
‘But it will be an interesting game and one we’re confident going into. I know the performances haven’t been as good as they could be in the first three games but this is a great opportunity to get back to the level we need to be at.’
More to follow…
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