'THEY'RE WORTH 1.5 BILLION EUROS' - ENGLAND HAILED AS 'UNBEATABLE' AHEAD OF EURO 2024 KNOCKOUT CLASH

Slovakia head coach Francesco Calzona believes last-16 opponents England have the best squad at the Euros and could become “unbeatable” if they start to play as a team.

The team ranked 45th in the world take on the Euro 2020 finalists at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday looking to record their biggest result as an independent nation.

England’s stuttering performances in topping Group C have given Slovakia hope, but they are under no illusion about the challenge Gareth Southgate’s star-studded side pose.

“I think that when England will give great performances as a group they will become unbeatable,” head coach Calzona said on the eve of the last-16 clash.

“We need to make the most of everything that they could concede, but we need to be very careful because they have a top-quality squad.

“I think that they have the best squad of the Euros because they have physicality, technique and also creativeness.

“They left important players at home because they have so much quality to pick from.

“So, you know, we need to make the most of their weak points and their concessions, but we also need to be cautious because this is a team that can punish you at any moment.”

Calzona built up an underdog mentality heading into the encounter, saying Slovakia’s squad are inferior both in quality and value to that of England.

“They are worth 1.5billion euros,” he said. “And we are worth 150million, so 10 times less.”

But the Italian also underlined his belief in a squad ready to fight for history in Gelsenkirchen, with veteran Peter Pekarik echoing those sentiments.

“Of course we have done the video analysis of the opposition, and we have watched England’s games,” the 37-year-old said.

“We could see that their quality is immense. We do not pay much attention to the criticism and the noise that is coming from the media or the fans.

“Before the tournament England was named as one of the top favourites to win, and, OK, maybe just one slip up in the game is enough and you can be punished.

“So, we just need to focus on ourselves and every player needs to be 100 per cent focused when getting out to the pitch.

“For example, the mistakes we made in the previous games we cannot let that happen again tomorrow because such opposition can make the most of them and they would punish us.”

2024-06-29T21:04:59Z dg43tfdfdgfd