Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Euro 2024 match.
England
Still the main favourites of the tournament. Still the most boring side of this EURO. Only one victory in their three games. Only two goals scored. Perhaps, England still have something to say. Or maybe they will never reach the final. Anyway, it’s not going to be the game where we will find answers to our questions. England topped their group and they will face an opponent that, at least before the start of the game, seems to be an easy option to beat.
Slovakia
Slovakia have qualified to the knockout phase from the most bizarre group of the tournament. All four sides were tied on points. Slovakia finished ahead of Ukraine on tiebreakers. But they didn’t manage to get above Belgium and Romania. It’s quite hard to say what Slovakia really can. They beat Belgium thanks to tons of moments their opponents, especially Lukaku, wasted. They seemed to agree to tie with Romania after about the 70th minute of the game. From what we have seen, Slovakia don’t seem to be a tough opponent.
England – Slovakia prediction
The only thing that Slovakia proved is that they had a pretty good defensive line. However, Belgium were about to break it on many occasions. It was just a matter of luck for Slovakia that their opponents failed to do it. Ukraine did, though. And Romania never really needed it.
I believe that England, finally, will show their best skills. If they don’t beat Slovakia in the way many people expect them to, then I don’t know why England are here. If they reach the final in this manner, it’s going to be like Greece in 2004. Effective. Yet terribly boring. I guess we’ve had enough of this style. It’s time to show real football.
