Euro 2024: England to beat Slovakia, Spain to end the Georgian dream?

Bukayo Saka will once again lead from the right wing when England takes on Slovakia but, is he the answer to the left-back conundrum? (Photo credit: GOAL)

England's Gareth Southgate may be reaching the end of his tenure with the 3Lions after finishing as a semifinalist at the 2018 World Cup and narrowly losing the 2020 Euro Championship on penalties.

Ahead of the game against Slovakia, too many ex-internationals have weighed in with hot takes, all looking for ways to accommodate their favorite players, but only Southgate has the final say on who gets into the starting eleven.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the call for Cole Palmer seems justified, but Southgate must make the right decision under pressure. The Trent Alexander Arnold experiment in midfield has failed, and it’s a good thing Southgate has abandoned that ship.

How about withdrawing Jude Bellingham to the middle, where he can play LCM with Declan Rice sitting as a lone 6? Then you give Phil Foden the freedom to roam as your RCM/10; this allows you to bring in an extra attacker in the form of Jarrod Bowen, Cole Palmer, or Anthony Gordon.

Slovakia got to the knockout stage by beating Belgium against all bookmakers’ expectations and then labored to a 1-1 draw against Romania to finish with four points after losing to Ukraine in their second group game.

England will be the favorite, but Slovakia can shock them just like they did to the Red Devils in their opening game of the tournament. They will prefer the underdog story; England cannot afford to be complacent on Sunday.

Elsewhere on Sunday, at the Rhein Energies Stadium, new tournament favorite Spain will take on Georgia, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, and it won’t make the headlines if La Roja carries the day; they’re expected to win the game.

Georgia impressed greatly when they made it out of the group stage by beating Portugal. Even though Roberto Martinez rotated 80% of his team for the game, you cannot take anything away from Sylvinho’s side as they ran out 2-0 winners.

Spain will restore their preferred first eleven against Georgia after resting every single player for the last group stage game, which they still went on to win. Georgia will give their all as always, but it will take more than luck for them to beat Spain.

Observe Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane for England; Kobbie Mainoo is advancing into the middle, providing stability to Rice in midfield. Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams are the two players to watch out for on the Spanish side. Kvicha Kvaratshkelia is the main man for Georgia; will he shine against La Roja?