What has been said?
Speaking after Tuesday’s disappointing match against Slovenia, England manager Gareth Southgate said: “I’m not going to back away from it, The most important thing is the supporters stay with the team.”
He continued: “I understand the narrative towards me and that’s better for the team than it being towards them.
“But it is creating an unusual environment to operate in. I’ve not seen any other team qualify and receive similar.
“I understand it, I’m not going to back away from it, but I’m very proud of the players for how they’re operating within it.”
Slovakia star man
Slovakia winger Ivan Schranz is currently joint second in the Euro 2024 Golden Boot race with two goals.
He scored the winner against Belgium in Slovakia’s opening match and netted his second of the tournament versus Ukraine.
What is Slovakia’s form like?
Slovakia made it through to the knockouts as one of the best third-placed teams in the group stages.
The Falcons got a win, a draw and suffered one defeat in Group E and finished on the same amount of points as Belgium, Ukraine and Romania.
Early team news
Kobbie Mainoo will make his first Euros start in England’s last-16 tie with Slovakia.
Conor Gallagher, who Mainoo replaced at half-time on Tuesday, drops to the bench in the only change from England‘s final Group C match.
Meanwhile, Kieran Trippier has been passed fit to start in Gelsenkirchen.
The Newcastle right-back, 33, has been nursing a calf injury this week but trained with the rest of the 26-man squad today and is ready to start again.
With Luke Shaw, who has not played since February, lacking match sharpness, Ezri Konsa had been on standby.
Welcome to England vs Slovakia
It is the business end of Euro 2024 now – and England are facing Slovakia in their Last 16 clash this evening!
The Three Lions head into the game on the back of an underwhelming group stage, however they did finish as group winners.
Gareth Southgate is expected to bring in Manchester United wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo into the midfield today in place of Conor Gallagher.
Mainoo will partner Declain Rice in the middle of the pitch, with Phil Foden – who had travelled back to the UK for the birth of his third child – set to start on the left.
The winner of today’s match will face a tricky quarter-final next Saturday against a buoyant Switzerland.
The Swiss dominated Italy yesterday to advance through with a comfortable 2-0 victory.
Follow ALL of the action with us here on SunSport as we bring you all the updates from Gelsenkirchen.