England win in dramatic fashion; Spain cruise into the Quarterfinals

England 2-1 Slovakia

England made it through the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 in a heart-stopping match against Slovakia with a score of 2-1.

Slovakia led in the first half and were on course for a win thanks to Ivan Schranz’s 25th-minute goal, putting his team firmly in control. It was Schranz’s third goal of the Euro 2024, making him one of the highest-top scorers in the tournament. But despite Slovakia’s dominance in the first half, leaving England scoreless, the table seemed to completely turn around as the second half started. 

England improved and became much more dynamic in the second half, but by then most of their opportunities were half-chances at best. Gareth Southgate turned to his bench in an attempt to impact the match but England left it late before forcing their way back into the contest. The match seemed to end with England being scoreless, but Bellingham’s acrobatic overhead kick in the 95th minute made the match intense, pushing extra time with both teams having scored one goal. 

At the start of the extra time, England’s team captain, Harry Kane made a stunning header in the 91st minute that secured his team’s victory. They will now advance to the quarter-finals where they will face Switzerland but need a significant performance if they want their journey in the Euros to continue. While Slovakia exited the European Championship after the match against England. 

Spain 4-1 Georgia

A comfortable 4-1 win over Georgia allowed Spain to advance to the Quarter-finals of the tournament. While Georgia gave their best performance, it was not enough for Spain who were in brilliant form.

While Spain made a mistake after an own goal in the 18th minute, giving Georgia the first goal of the match, they didn’t let that faze them and were able to score four consecutive scores after. Spain equalized the score after a bottom-right-corner goal by Rodrigo in the 40th minute. 

As the half-time started, Spain earned another point with a simple header by Fabian Ruiz that gave his team the lead in the 51st minute. Georgia tried to make another goal but their struggles continued. Spain took advantage of this opportunity and scored two consecutive goals. Iñaki William delivered a strong kick in the penalty box making the Spain lead much bigger in the 75th minute. But not too long after that, in the 83rd minute, Dani Olmo passed into the bottom left corner making the final goal of the night. 

Spain’s performance proved that they are a big threat in the tournament — being able to score from various ways like counter-attacks and long-range. Thanks to their spectacular game, they will now play against the host country, Germany in the Quarterfinal, while the first-timer Georgia faces elimination in the tournament.