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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Jacob Steinberg at the Arena AufSchalke

England 2-1 Slovakia: player ratings from the Euro 2024 last-16 match

Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham was the pick of an unremarkable bunch for England. Photograph: Hollandse Hoogte/REX/Shutterstock

England (4-2-3-1)

Jordan Pickford (GK) Bemused by everything that unfolded in front of him. No chance with Schranz’s goal. 6

Kyle Walker (RB) Dreadful passing and he was repeatedly exposed by Haraslin. But hurled in throw for equaliser. 4

John Stones (CB) Looked like his mind was elsewhere. Awful distribution. Knuckled down in extra-time. 4

Marc Guéhi (CB) Suspended for next round after Trippier’s hospital ball. Beaten before Slovakia’s goal. Then a big assist. 6

Kieran Trippier (LB): Unlucky not to get an assist. But lack of left foot a problem all tournament. 4

Kobbie Mainoo (CM) Did not protect defence well but he showed personality on the ball. Drove England forward. 6

Declan Rice (CM) Faced with too many runners. Struggled in possession, hit post. Better when England led 2-1. 5

Bukayo Saka (RW) Teammates too slow to find him. Flickered at times. Unselfishly played left-back and right wing-back. 6

Jude Bellingham (AM) Frustrating for long spells. Then saved England with an absurd bicycle kick. Who else indeed? 7

Phil Foden (LW) Thought he had equalised, only for VAR to intervene. Ineffective on left. Final product poor. 4

Harry Kane (CF) Had a shot blocked, missed a sitter. Off pace. Scored the winner. Work that out. 6

Substitutes: Cole Palmer (for Trppier, 66) Offered creativity after his belated introduction. Should have started. 7; Eberechi Eze (for Mainoo, 84) Flashed the ball back into the box for England’s second goal. Had to play left wing-back. 7; Ivan Toney (for Foden, 90+4) Spooked Slovakia after coming on in added time – such a smart assist for Kane, 7; Conor Gallagher (for Kane, 105), 6; Ezri Konsa (for Bellingham, 105) 7

Slovakia (4-3-3)

Martin Dubravka (GK) Barely had anything to do before England’s goals. Strong in the air, relieving pressure at set pieces. 6

Peter Pekarik (RB) Caught out of position for England’s disallowed goal. Missed a glorious chance to equalise. 6

Denis Vavro (CB) Made an important block when Kane threatened. Stood firm but resistance faltered at the end. 6

Milan Skriniar (CB) The Paris Saint-Germain centre-back shone, only for Bellingham to take over. Toney unsettled Slovakia too. 6

David Hancko (LB): Overlapped and shot wide. Had the unenviable task of marking Saka and Palmer. Kept going. 7

Stanislav Lobotka (CM) Ran midfield during the first half, knitting everything together. England could have done with his intelligence. 7

Juraj Kucka (CM) Headed on for the opener. Involved in plenty of clever moves. Picked up early booking. 7

Ondrej Duda (CM) Slovakia’s mastery of midfield owed much to them playing as a team. Fought hard but tired. 6

Ivan Schranz (RW) Continued his goalscoring form by running through to beat Pickford. Stole limelight from England’s stars. 7

David Strelec (CF) Split England with lovely ball to Schranz. Almost scored from halfway line after a mix-up. 7

Lukas Haraslin (LW) Dangerous before going off. Kept bursting behind on the left. Nutmegged Walker at one point. 7

Substitutes: Robert Bozenik (for Strelec, 62) 6; Tomas Suslov (for Haraslin, 62) 6; Laszlo Benes (for Duda, 81) 6; Matus Bero (for Kucka, 81) 6; Norbert Gyomber (for Schranz, 90+3) 6; Lubomir Tupta (for Pekarik, 109) 6.

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