Slovakia’s Italian coach Francesco Calzona has said England players were scared of his team who he feels deserved to go through to the quarter-finals.
Slovakia was just seconds away from a place in the quarter-finals after Ivan Schranz’s opener in the first half.
But Jude Bellingham equalised with a stunning overhead kick in the 95th minute, before Harry Kane nodded in early in extra time.
“The lads worked so hard and followed what I asked of them to the letter,” Calzona told Sky Sport Italia.
“We allowed them a bit more in the second half, but that was to be expected against a team of this level. In extra time, it was one-way traffic, we pinned them back and they relied on time-wasting and obstructionism.
Also Read: Euro 2024: Kane Thumbs Up Incredible Bellingham’s Goal Vs Slovakia
“I was angry because one extra minute of stoppages with the amount of time-wasting especially from their goalkeeper was not enough.
“I did not like the performance of the referees at all, but we certainly didn’t lose because of that. We lost because of a couple of distractions, but clearly I am very proud of my team as we played positive football, put in a great performance and I think the people of Slovakia will be proud of that.
“We knew that we could not leave space between the lines, we all know what Bellingham can do and had to keep it tight. We had the chances in the first half to kill off the game and it would’ve changed everything.
“It is a source of pride to force a team like England to focus only on defending in extra time. That means they were scared of us and in my view we deserved to go through,” Calzona concluded.
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The space between the lines. Also known as the hole, or the pocket.
Calzona said they needed to keep it tight between the lines, to keep Bellingham in particular at bay.
Bellingham and players like him, talented support strikers and attacking midfielders, can do all kinds of damage in the pocket, if they are allowed to.
Meanwhile, some coaches in another part of the world insist that their players already know what to do, when to attack, and when to defend. No need for tactics.
Hehehehe!
Hahahahaha…..Pompeii, your last lines killed me with laughter. If you want to talk to finidi talk to him directly…..LMAOoo.
And some of his fellow clueless supporters are still wondering why he was demoted after 4 matches before he would do further damage….?!
The fruad took over AFCON vice champions after being the Asst Coach for 20 months prior and within 4 months and 4 matches turned them into a team that needs osimhen to escape defeat ON A NEUTRAL GROUND in the hands of Benin republic…..LMAOoo
@pompei,without a tactical coach forget positive result in football particularly in this digital age.
When u listen to coach like this talk, and how they deploy different formations during action to counter the opponent you know Finidi George wasn’t a coach but a good fisherman. Hehehehe