ENGLAND have landed in the easier half of the draw but there’s no way Gareth Southgate will be taking it for granted against Slovakia on Sunday.
Slovakia qualified from the tightest group in the competition where all four sides in Group E finished on four points.
They beat Belgium, lost to Ukraine and drew with Romania to take their place in the next round.
While they have a host of talent players, Slovakia are arguably one of the weaker sides to have qualified.
Slovakia operate in a 4-3-3 system and will generally look to maintain a tight and disciplined defensive unit and punish England on the counter.
SunSport explores three key weaknesses of Slovakia and how England can exploit them.
Stones stepping into midfield
At club level one of the most interesting developments in recent seasons has been Pep Guardiola‘s decision allow John Stones to step into the midfield from centre back.
And Stones has been widely successful since making the tactical switch.
In the 2022/23 season, this tactical adjustment at Man City was one of the keys behind them winning the Champions League.
Teams simply could not defend against the forward movement from Stones and the runs that he would make into the midfield.
Man City therefore often form a back-three to allow Stones to press into the middle of the park.
Against Slovenia, Stones predominately passed sideways. Moving into the midfield would draw opposition players and create space for teammates
Slovakia play with a lone striker, likely to be either Boavista player Robert Bozenik or David Strelec of Slovan Bratislava, and do not typically press aggressively.
Instead, they will be content to sit back in a deeper to block off the centre of the pitch.
So far this tournament, England have struggled to break-down side’s who sit in.
Stones stepping into midfield could solve this issue and mitigate against Slovakia’s likely set up.
Playing for England, Stones has plenty of the ball but drops deep and passes sideways most often
For Man City, Stones plays further up the pitch and is looking to be much more aggressive with his distribution
With Marc Guehi as the other centre-back and with Kyle Walker at right-back, England already have enough pace to cover for Stones should he step forward.
This movement and Stones’ technical ability would create overloads and space centrally for England.
Gareth Southgate should free up Stones and allow him to play with more freedom.
Here, against Slovenia, Stones has carried the ball into the midfield and pulls opposition players towards him. It creates space for his teammates
Bukayo Saka against the left-back
So far this tournament Slovakia have started Feyenoord defender David Hancko, 26, at left-back.
While Hancko is by no means a bad player, he has been heavily linked in recent weeks to Premier League clubs, he is not a natural left-back.
He typically plays centre-back for Feyenoord.
He is not comfortable, however, when asked to defend isolated 1v1 against fast and direct attacking wingers such as Bukayo Saka.
Southgate should start Saka on the right where he will look to stretch the pitch and directly take on Hancko.
And Saka could well welcome the opportunity after having failed to make his imprint on Euro 2024 in the group stage.
Saka’s movements could well prove difficult for Hancko to defend against.
GettyBukayo Saka could prove crucial for England[/caption]
Here, Saka moves it inside to midfield before making a run in behind
Likewise, on the other flank England’s left wingers should take advantage of veteran right-back Peter Pekarik who is 37 years old.
Bringing an energetic Anthony Gordon or Eberechi Eze on with 30 minutes to go could prove vital in running Pekarik tired.
While Saka will look to get isolated 1v1 against Hancko, it will be important for England to support Saka in midfield areas to offer inside.
There is some doubt as to which midfielder Southgate will choose to play alongside Declan Rice.
But whether the position goes to Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kobbie Mainoo or Conor Gallagher they will have to work in order to support Saka’s forward momentum.
Targeting a player who is essentially playing outside of his best position could provide England with their best chance to break down a stubborn defensive system from the Slovaks.
GettyDavid Hancko fills in at left-back for Slovakia[/caption]
Saka played his best game of England’s group against Denmark while attacking usual centre-back Andreas Christensen
England must press Lobotka
There is little doubt that the key player for Slovakia in this tournament has been the 29-year-old Slovakia midfielder Stanislav Lobotka.
He has been playing as the deepest midfield player in Slovakia’s 4-3-3 system sitting as the single pivot in the ‘6’ position.
Everything that Slovakia do well comes through the Napoli star as he consistently receives and links the attack for his team.
He often receives the ball deep and spins to look for opportunities to play forward and into areas that will hurt the opposition.
Lobotk finds ways to unpick sides and move his team through the final third and into dangerous areas.
Lobotka moves intelligently to create space and is keen to get the ball forward
Whether Southgate plays Jude Bellingham or Phil Foden in as the No10, they must maintain close contact with Lobotka to contain him.
Lobotka is the main attacking threat and stunned Wembley after three minutes in England’s 1-1 draw with Slovakia in 2017.
Stopping him from dictating the game will hurt the Slovakians and disrupt their gameplan in possession.
If England are able to stop Lobotka from playing effectively – they will give themselves an excellent opportunity to progress to the next stage.
Here Lobotka receives the ball from the back and quickly turns Ukraine’s midfield
GettyLobotka is Slovakia’s playmaker[/caption]
Conclusion
When international tournaments get to the knockout stage then they really get going.
Even though England have yet to impress in this tournament they have still given themselves a chance to win the competition with a favourable draw going forward.