England coach Roy Hodgson will be strongly tempted to start with Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge in attack against Slovakia on Monday after both came off the bench to score in the 2-1 win over Wales.
Former England striker Alan Shearer has led calls for the pair to replace Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling, neither of whom made much impression in the opening 1-1 draw with Russia nor in the first half against Wales.
Kane, the Premier League’s top scorer, had barely touched the ball in the opponents’ penalty area in either game.
Yet it took Vardy just 11 minutes to nab the goal that put England back on level terms, while Sturridge found a way through a crowded penalty area to snatch the winner in stoppage time.
“Yeah, I’d be more than happy with that,” Vardy told reporters on Saturday when asked if he was hopeful of starting.
A win against Slovakia would seal victory in group B and see England paired with one of the third-placed teams in the round of 16, giving it an excellent chance of advancing further.
A draw or loss could make things significantly harder, depending on how Wales fare against Russia. England enjoyed the bulk of the possession in each of its first two games and Hodgson has deployed all his strikers, including teenager Marcus Rashford in the second half against Wales. But it has looked less than impregnable in defence, conceding a late equaliser against Russia and a long-range Gareth Bale free kick that outfoxed keeper Joe Hart in the game against Wales.
Its biggest threat is likely to come from Slovakia’s attacking midfielder Marek Hamsik, who laid on one goal for Vladimir Weiss and scored the other with a curling shot in his team’s 2-1 win against Russia.
Weiss tipped Daniel Sturridge, his former team mate at Manchester City’s academy, as a danger man for England.
“He is an extraordinary player, which can be seen both on the club and national level. On the other hand, all their players are quality. It is necessary to be ready for them all,” he said.
For Slovakia, playing in its first European Championship finals, the stakes in this match are high. “This is what we wanted, what we came for, to prove something big and that we can be measured next to a team like England,” midfielder Dusan Svento said.
Highlights:
| » | Robert Lewandowski is in some impressive company at the European Championship, for all the wrong reasons. The Poland striker has yet to score at Euro 2016, joining the likes of Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo and Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic. But that doesn’t matter to Lewandowski. He just wants to beat already-eliminated Ukraine on Tuesday and hopefully advance to the round of 16 from Group C. |
| » | A Portugal fan who ran on the field to get a ‘selfie’ with Cristiano Ronaldo will cost his national soccer federation a fine. UEFA says it has opened a disciplinary case against the Portuguese federation for a “field invasion.” UEFA holds national teams responsible for the behaviour of its fans inside a stadium. The man ran across half the field from behind one goal at Parc des Princes after Portugal drew 0-0 with Austria on Saturday. The fan was then led away. |
| » | Portugal coach Fernando Santos hauled off Ricardo Quaresma after the winger failed to follow his tactical instructions. “Quaresma was okay but he was too close to the sideline,” Santos said of the winger who he replaced after 71 minutes with Joao Mario. “At that time I thought we needed to bring the game more into the centre,” said Santos. “Andre Gomes on the other side was doing it properly, giving space for (left back) Raphael Guerreiro to run along the line. Quaresma started being a little slower.” |
| » | Germany’s World Cup winner Mario Gotze has brushed off criticism of his form by insisting, “sometimes you’re the dog, sometimes you’re the tree”. In the opening 2-0 win over Ukraine, Gozte did not touch the ball for 18 minutes in the first half. He had one clear shot on goal in his 90 minutes on the pitch and against Poland, he managed just two shots in 66 minutes. |
| » | Roy Hodgson’s future as England manager depends on how well the team fare at Euros, Football Association chairman Greg yke said in a BBC radio interview broadcast on Sunday. Dyke, who steps down this month, said that Hodgson’s contract, which is due to expire at the end of the tournament, will be extended if the team “do well” and “play well” in France. |
