Slovakia nearly score from the halfway line as basic John Stones error almost costs England their Euro 2024 spot... before Three Lions rally late on
England's wretched Euro 2024 last-16 performance against Slovakia was almost made even more embarrassing when a mistake nearly saw them concede from the halfway line.
The Three Lions found themselves behind in the knockout clash after Ivan Schranz gave Slovakia a surprise lead in the 25th minute against the run of play.
A tortured European Championship campaign had seen England's pre-tournament status as favourites given a stark awakening, and things only got worse against Slovakia.
Lapses in concentration and indifferent quality to that shown at club level saw England produce one of their worst performances during Southgate's eight-year reign on Sunday.
The disastrous showing was almost made even worse when a basic error from a free-kick gave Slovakia a golden shooting opportunity.
A basic error from England sees Slovakia come desperately close to doubling their lead... š³#Euro2024 | #ENGSVK pic.twitter.com/MnyJx6iMWj
ā ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 30, 2024
Man City defender John Stones wasn't paying attention when the a three-yard pass was rolled into him just inside England's half and Slovakia pounced on the opportunity.
An optimistic shot fromĀ David Strelec sailed over England's defence and Jordan Pickford during a heart-in-your-mouth moment for Three Lions fans.
The shot fortunately ended up inching just wide of the goal in what proved to be a huge let-off for England.
Pickford was left furious at what had happened as Stones began apologising to his team-mates for the almost-costly error.Ā
Their Euro 2024 journey looked set to be over with just one minute remaining in stoppage time before Jude Bellingham popped up with a late equaliser.
The Real Madrid midfielder waited patiently as a throw-in was launched into the box and manipulated his body to produce a brilliant acrobatic finish.Ā