With England needing just the one point to be certain of a place in the last 16, all eyes will be on the somewhat nervous Roy Hodgson as he takes England into their final game in the groups against Slovakia.
Currently leading Group B with 4 points, only 1 point above Wales, England have won all previous meetings with Slovakia, but it is not going to be plain sailing this time round. With Slovakia’s recent international record from September 2015 resulting in just 3 losses, England need to be on top form to ensure they do net let their chances of a last 16 spot, slip away.
Hodgson told the Independent that “we would like to win the group”. He said that “we want to win the group because it means we’ll play a third-placed team rather than a second or first”. Hodgson has also said that “as a team, we certainly think Slovakia are very dangerous going forward”. “They have a strong front line and although I didn’t want to single him out, Marik Hamsik does need singling out as he is an exceptional player”.
The Napoli midfielder will be a massive threat to England. He produced an outstanding individual performance during Slovakia’s 2-1 win over Russia on 15th June, with his manager saying he is “ready to play for a very big club”. Although ending in defeat, Hamsik put in another star performance against Wales and will be aiming to do the same damage against England. Averaging 4 shots a game so far in the Euros, he will be looking for any chance he can take against England to get Joe Hart working.
Despite starting on the bench for his last 2 games, the Leicester City hero Jamie Vardy will be starting against Slovakia. Vardy has scored four in his last five matches for England, with arguably his equaliser against Wales on Thursday being the most important. He will be out to impress this evening as the Premier League Golden Boot winner Harry Kane has not been living up to expectations, giving Vardy the opportunity to secure a starting spot ahead of the Tottenham man. With Slovakia never being able to keep a clean sheet in six previous games at a major tournament, in form Vardy and danger man Sturridge will be looking to take advantage of that.
With Sturridge also extremely likely to start alongside the Leicester man, it looks as if Hodgson is looking to refresh his side, but told the Independent “I have to think a lot more carefully to win the game and I don’t want to be accused of not taking the game seriously enough by making changes that people do not understand”.
“All players are capable of coming into this team and helping us win the match”. It is a massive game for England and for possible for the future of Roy Hodgson.
Venue: St-Etienne
Date: Monday 20th June
Kick Off: 20:00 (UK Time)
Source: DSG
