Under-fire Gareth Southgate says it is time to deliver as England attempt to put an underwhelming group stage behind them by making improvements and progressing past Slovakia in the round of 16. The road to Berlin has begun in unconvincing fashion for the Euro 2020 runners-up, with boos greeting the end of the 1-1 draw with Denmark and Tuesday’s goalless stalemate with Slovenia. But England won Group C having started with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Serbia at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, where they return for their first knockout match on Sunday.
Getting ready for Gelsenkirchen ? pic.twitter.com/2UpafkhuUc — England (@England) June 29, 2024 Slovakia, who are ranked 45th in the world, stand in England’s way in the round of 16 – a stage they have progressed from in all three previous tournaments under the former defender.
Put to Southgate that nobody will care about the rights and wrongs of the group stage if they kick on in the knockout phase, he said: “That is the reality and of course we have to deliver it. “The fact is you go into a different mental state. Everybody knows that knockout football is jeopardy, everybody knows that on a given day, an opponent can make it really tough for you.
“You know the quality of the opposition left is high and so it changes the mindset. It is about ‘how far can we go?’ We are trying to achieve something exceptional. “But it is a step at a time and tomorrow is a chance to improve aspects of our game, to show.
