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Rice and Saka help England edge past Slovakia

Declan Rice celebrates England's win against Slovakia

Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka played all 120 minutes as England reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 with a dramatic win against Slovakia.

Our due started the game in Gelsenkirchen which saw the Three Lions trail for the majority of the 90 minutes after Ivan Schranz netted a shock opener on 25 minutes. Declan hit a post in the second half with a shot from range, as England looked to be exiting the tournament early.

But as the game entered the sixth minute of stoppage time, a superb overhead kick from Jude Bellingham sent the game to extra-time, and straight away Harry Kane headed England into the lead which they clung onto to set up a last-eight clash with Switzerland.

Our duo were on the field throughout, with Bukayo even being deployed at left-back during the second half as Gareth Southgate sought to find a way out of a difficult situation. Declan made his 55th appearance for his country, while Bukayo earned cap number 37. Aaron Ramsdale was once again an unused sub.

During the game, Bukayo completed more dribbles on the pitch than any other player, while Declan had 109 touches, won every tackle he made, completed 80 passes and had three shots in an all-action display.

Post-match, he said: "You look up at the clock and you think 'we could be going home here'. There are players saying to each other 'one minute to go' and there is that inner fight and spirit in us.

β€œWe have got that togetherness, we would do anything to protect this manager. Keep going and keep fighting – it is an honour to be a part of it. We are going to keep going."

The Three Lions will now face the Swiss on Saturday with a spot in the last four up for grabs, and another team that has made it through to the quarter-finals are Spain, who thrashed Georgia 4-1 to continue their impressive start to the tournament.

Having been handed a start in their final group game against Albania, David Raya returned to the bench for La Roja, who have set up a meeting with Kai Havertz's Germany on Friday night.