Full-time: Slovakia 1-2 England
England have seen the job through to a successful conclusion that didn’t look at all likely at half-time: so hats off to them for an excellent turn-around in the second half. They have kept their campaign alive by coming from a goal down to beat a fine team in a hostile environment, and you can’t say fairer than that. Beating Poland on Thursday would send them into the semi-final.
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90+2 min: The ball is deep in Slovakian territory and England are doing their damnedest to keep it there.
90 min: At least four more minutes for England to hold on ...
89 min: It’s getting quite hairy in the English area as Slovakia make one last push ...
England substitution: Woodrow on, Abraham off after a fine performance as the lone link man up front.
87 min: Rusnak delivers to the back post. Murphy outjumps Ninaj to head it behind for a corner. Lobotka sends it over. Mawson sends it back out.
86 min: Murphy is booked for an off-the-ball tug on Haraslin, who was trying to dart on the his wrong side to receive a return pass. Freekick to Slovakia near the left-hand corner of England’s box ...
85 min: Chambers does well to nick the ball off Haraslin in his own box and then welly it to safety.
84 min: Slovakia are getting into plenty of crossing positions but Mawson and Chambers are repelling everything they send over.
82 min: Murphy makes his first error since coming on at half-time, allowing Haraslin to come in on his blind side and meet a cross from the far wing. Fortunately for England, Haraslin’s header went nowhere.
81 min: Benes curls in a cross from the left. Pickford comes and collects, much to the gratitude of his defenders.
England substitution: here’s Demarai Gray at last! Off comes Swift, who did OK overall.
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77 min: Abraham is down hurt after a clash copping an elbow in the neck from Skrimiar. The defender didn’t swing the elbow, it was more a case of putting it in a location where the opponent would be if he challenged. That’s probably why th ref decided not to show a card. Chambers and Chalobah berate Skrimiar all the same, which is only proper, but the ref takes no action.
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75 min: Most of the crowd rise to their feet and try to will a Slovakian equaliser as their team win a corner. but Chambers heads clear and then Chalobah blocks a shot from 20 yards.
Slovakian substitution: Haraslin on, Mihalik off.
73 min: Redmond scurries down the left, looks up and sweeps the ball across to Swift, who opts for a pop from 20 yards. Routine save for the keeper.
72 min: This is encouraging from England; they’re managing the game very well now and that is not something that has been said about the senior team very often in recent decades.
70 min: Poised play from England, quenching Slovakian fire by moving forward with steady purpose. There was even a glimmer of shooting opportunity before Chilwell’s dash into the box was curtailed by Skriniar.
68 min: Murphy sabotages a Slovakian attack and then launches an English one with a raking pass wide to Redmond. Redmond’s cross fails to find a team-mate.
Slovakia substitutions: Benes and Safranko on, Zrelak and Chrien off.
65 min: Mihalik collects the ball on the right side of the English box and tries a quick cross. It’s blocked by Murphy’s hand but the referee wisely rules that the defender knew nothing about it so waves away the appeals for a penalty.
63 min: Mawson clears a Slovakian corner and then, moments later, is well placed to boot away a vicious low cross by Zrelak.
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Slovakia 1-2 England (Redmond 61)
Excellent goal! England were on the back foot for a long time but suddenly sprung forward to deadly effect! Abraham shielded the ball well in midfield and fed Ward-Prowse, who spanked it long to Redmond, who, yet again, cut in from the left and fired with his right foot past the keeper, admittedly with the help of a deflection.
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58 min: England’s equaliser has triggered a total reversal of the previous half-hour: it’s now Slovakia attacking and England in all-out defensive mode.
56 min: Snappy move by Slovakia, who’ve got back on to the front foot in the last few minutes. Bero lashes a shot wide after spinning at the edge of the box.
54 min: Murphy wanders in from the right and unleashes a low curler with his left foot from 25 yards. Chovan saves without difficulty. Murphy already had more of an impact than Holgate, whose deliveries were consistently rubbish.
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53 min: Redmond robs Lobotka in midfield and sprints deep into enemy territory. he pings a low ball across the face of goal but Slovakia clear. They’re now looking more stretched than at any stage previously, however ...
GOAL! Slovakia 1-1 England (Mawson 1-1)
An England corner was cleared but Murphy floated it back in from the right. Mawson met it with his feet from close range. The keeper saved the first effort but the Swansea man bundled the rebound into the net! And from an assist by Murphy. Boothroyd’s changes was inspired, after all!
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49 min: Abraham flicks the ball on to Swift, who helps it on to Redmond at the left-hand corner of the Slovakian box. Redmond shuffles the ball on to his first foot and opens fire, bringing a decent save from Chovan.
47 min: England do not appear to have changed formation: Murphy has slotted straight in at right-back. It seems Boothroyd is no more inspired than his players have been so far. Those two facts are probably related.
46 min: Boothroyd has made one substitution during the break, replacing Holgate with Murphy. Not sure what Gray has to do to get on.
Watching a replay of the goal, it’s clear that Pickford could have done better. if he hadn’t saved a penalty in the first match, we might be pondering the mystery of a player who performs better in a Sunderland shirt than an England one.
Half-time: Slovakia 1-0 England
Chrien’s near-post header from a corner has given Slovakia a half-time lead; England have about 10 minutes to decide whether to keep plugging away at Plan A, which has not really bothered the Slovakians, are try a Plan B. Whatever they decide, after that they’ll have 45 minutes to save their tournament. If I were Aidy Boothroyd - and I can confirm that I am not -, I’d be introducing Demarai Gray pronto and probably Grealish or Hughes, too. Switching to a back three is another option worth considering; basically, England need to find more creativity, more accuracy and get more numbers in the opposing box. Going forward they’re just not posing enough problems to a strong Slovakia defence. Truth be told, there’s scant improvement from the opening game against Sweden.
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45+1 min: Freekick to England, about 26 yards out. Ward-Prowse curls it well over the wall, but Chovan palms it over the bar. It’s a good effort and if it had been a little more towards the corner it might have found the net.
45 min: Holgate shapes up to fling in another long throw from the right but then chucks it short to Chalobah, whose cross is poor.
43 min: Baker and Chalobah try to unpick the Slovakian defence with a one-two but it was too predictable and Lobotka steps in to disrupt it.
41 min: Holgate flings in a long throw. Chovan punches it clear at the near post. Holgate retrieves it and plays a disguised short pass to Swift, who tries to clip in a dainty cross from the right. But, as ever, the final ball fails to find an Englishman, this time because a Slovakian defender got a crucial touch to the cross.
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38 min: England are forcing Slovakia to defend much more now; the problem is that Slovakia are doing so very well and England can’t summon a final ball to unlock them. Abraham can hardly get a touch.
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36 min: England build well around the Slovakian box but can’t infiltrate it due to vigilant defending. Swift attempts to cut out a step by curling in from the edge of the area. It’s a decent effort but flies a couple of yards wide.
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34 min: Pickford easily gathers a 30-yard pea-roller from a Slovakian who would prefer not to be named.
32 min: Ward-Prowse tries to flick a pass through to Abraham, but Valjent intercepts and then slides in to foil Ward-Prowse on the follow-up. He seems to be well named, that Valjent.
30 min: Swift does well to wriggle away from one persistent Slovakian defender and feed Abraham, who is bundled off the ball by another two persistent Slovakian defenders. England aren’t going to be gifted an easy route back into this, that seems certain.
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28 min: It’s bedlam inside the stadium now, with the Slovakian hordes even more festive than before. This is a teal test of the young English players’ mental strength as well as their skill and ingenuity.
26 min: Ward-Prowse booked for shoving his studs he he slides into a tackle on Bero. He won the ball but gets yellow-carded on a technicality.
24 min: Ward-Prowse gets another corner and this time his delivery is better, but Slovakia defend it well.
GOAL! Slovakia 1-0 England (Chrien 22)
Moments after England bungle a corner, Slovakia score from one. Rusnak clipped the ball in towards the near post, where Chrien peeled away from Holgate and twisted his body well to guide a backward header past Pickford and into the far corner!
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19 min: Someone wasn’t paying attention on the training ground: Ward-Prowse issues a hand signal and then takes a corner short, to the apparent surprise of his team-mates. Slovakia clear.
18 min: Nice ball by Baker to send Chilwell racing down the left. His cross is headed behind by Ninaj at the near post.
16 min: Redmond, who seemingly has a free role around Abraham, peels out to the left to receive a pass. He then feeds Ward-Prowse, who brings in Holgate on the right wing. The Everton player overhits his cross, something which he and Chilwell did far too often against Sweden.
14 min: Lobotka somehow escapes a booking after treading on Redmond’s foot from behind. They seem particularly keen to make the Southampton man aware of their presence early. He’d welcome more protection from the ref, it’s probably fair to say.
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12 min: England are starting to get slightly the upper hand in midfield, with Chalobah influential at the base of the diamond. Bero has just been booked for taking out the Chelsea player after being beaten by a dummy-and-dash.
10 min: England move forward tidily and patiently before Ward-Prowse lays the ball back for Chalobah, who decides to try his luck from 25 yards. He drills a low shot several yards wide.
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9 min: It’s been a high-energy and hot-paced opening to the game and both sides have shown an eagerness to attack, but precision has been in short supply so far.
7 min: Holgate interrupts a Slovakian attack and nudges the ball to Chalobah, who pings it long over the top for Abraham to chase. Chovan hurries off his line to gather it before the striker can get there.
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5 min: Slovakia are pressing with almost Klopp-esque zeal, trying to disrupt England’s passing from the back. Mazan earns a cheer from the partisan crowd by sliding in to dispossess Redmond before the Southampton man even knew he had the ball.
3 min: Pickford sends his first goal kick long, and Skriniar wins the header easily at the edge of his own area. But England soon regain possession and work the ball to Swift, who’s operating at the tip of a midfield diamond. He cuts on to his right foot and fires in a cross/shot that Chovan clasps without much hassle.
1 min: Slovakia kick off, bringing another loud cheer from their uproarious fans. Within seconds Chambers is on the floor after mis-timing a jump for a header and falling over Zrelak. But he gets to his feet quickly enough, no lasting harm done.
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For those deprived him images of this game but keen to picture it in their minds, Slovakia are the side all in white. England are wearing whale blue. The din created by the Slovakian fans is quite something: they’re properly in the mood!
The teams march out on to the pitch, the sun is shining brightly and the stadium looks close to full, mostly with Slovakian fans, by the sounds of it.
Our man Ed Aarons is in Poland, consorting with the foreign hackery to help you see the world as they do:
Slovakian journalists say DM Stanislav Lobotka and former #mcfc winger Albert Rusnak are the players to watch out for. Must-win for England
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) June 19, 2017
Teams:
Slovakia: Chovan; Valjent, Ninaj, Skriniar, Mazan; Lobotka; Rusnak, Bero, Chrien, Mihalik; Zrelak.
Subs: Rodak, Jakubech, Huk, Vestenicky, Spalek, Staka, Skovajsa, Haraslin, Safranko, Vavro, Kacer, Benes
England: Pickford; Holgate, Mawson, Cahmbers, Chilwel; Chalobah, Ward-Prowse, Baker, Swift; Redmond, Abraham
Subs: Gunn, Mitchell, Stephens. Gray, Targett, Murphy, Holding, Haue, Iorfa, Hughes, Grealish, Woodrow
Referee: G Mazeika (Lithuania)
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to what has been described – not by a desperate media but by England’s manager, no less – as a must-win match for England. Buoyed by recents exploits by other young lions, England’s U-21s went into this tournament with high hopes of winning it but a dreary 0-0 draw with Sweden in their first match has left them with no room for error in their second group game. Slovakia will be no willing victims, for they began this tournament by shocking the hosts, Poland, after qualifying for it at the expense of Holland and Turkey, amongst others.
This has been England’s most disappointing age group in recent years - apart from the senior team, obviously - as the U-21s have failed to make it out of the group stages in the last three European Championships, although, in fairness, they have at least made it to the finals each time, while other big countries have not. If they are to make it out of their group this time, they will probably have to play far better than they did against Sweden, when they were untidy and unimaginative, which is not what we were told to expect from a side managed by Aidy Boothroyd. The technician blamed Sweden’s conservative tactics for his own team’s humdrum approach in the first match - so at least England’s excuse was innovative - and he reckons his team will show their true face today. Boothroyd certainly hasn’t lost confidence in his charges, as he has made only one alteration to his lineup from the last game, introducing the elegant John Swift for Jacob Murphy in midfield. There’s plenty of talent there even if, sadly, Demarai Gray begins on the bench again. Can they do it? Yes, they can! Will they do it? That’s what we’re here to find out.
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