Rio Ferdinand

Gareth Southgate's side were saved by Jude Bellingham's brilliance and an extra-time finish by Harry Kane to defeat Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen.

Spain were at their usual best, despite an early scare, as they swept aside Georgia to continue their impressive start to this European Championship.

With more last-16 action around the corner, we take a look back at the day's best bits across social media.

Beauty from Bellingham

Bellingham proved England's hero in Gelsenkirchen, levelling after 94 minutes in their last-16 clash with Slovakia.

The Real Madrid midfielder crashed in a remarkable overhead-kick equaliser, leaving supporters, team-mates and pundits in awe of the 21-year-old's salvaging act.

England's official X account shared an image of Bellingham flying through midair before cannoning past Martin Dubrakva – a photo telling a thousand stories at Arena AufSchalke.

Pedri takes UEFA behind the scenes

Spain midfielder Pedri played an integral role once again as La Roja overcame Georgia to reach the last eight.

Yet the Barcelona man was in action behind the camera prior to that, taking UEFA's official social media account on a day behind the scenes at the Spain camp.

From conversations at a team media day to joking with his Spanish colleagues, Pedri was in a cheery mood, one that will only have improved after Sunday's victory.

Bradley 'the boss' Barcola

France are preparing for a last-16 meeting against Belgium on Monday, touching down in Dusseldorf as they hope to go deeper into this tournament.

Didier Deschamps needs a performance after an unconvincing Group D showing, though Les Bleus appear united in their efforts.

Ibrahima Konate was even caught offering team-mate Bradley Barcola a new nickname, but who knows whether his "boss" tag will stick.

Red Devils hit Dusseldorf before France test

Belgium may have come under scrutiny for a drab Group E performance, but the Red Devils appeared in a laidback manner ahead of their clash with France.

Domenico Tedesco's side were all snapped by the Belgian media as they hit the ground in Dusseldorf before Monday's meeting.

Oranje hotting up for Romania

Romania were the surprise package at this Euros after topping Group E, with their reward a last-16 clash with the Netherlands in Munich.

Ronald Koeman's Oranje were seen being put through their paces ahead of that fixture as Cody Gakpo was caught on camera in pre-match training.

All smiles from the hosts

Kai Havertz's penalty and a finish from Jamal Musiala was enough to see Julian Nagelsmann's Euro 2024 hosts past Denmark in the last 16 on Saturday.

The downpour and thunderstorm that stopped the clash in Dortmund did not seem to dampen the mood of any Germany player either.

Emre Can, Musiala and Leroy Sane were all smiles as Germany's official X account shared behind-the-scenes photos after full-time.

Sheeran and Ferdinand backing England

Bellingham's heroics may have had England supporters celebrating across Germany and at home, but two familiar faces were together to toast Sunday's success.

Former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand joined by music star Ed Sheeran, sharing a post to tell the world 'It's coming home'.

Whether Southgate can deliver that remains to be seen as the England manager continues to search for his 'A Team'.

Albart living it up in Cologne

Euros mascots are always an interesting thing to look out for, thinking back to the likes of Pinocchio (Italy 1980) and Goaliath (England 1996).

Germany have their very own furry friend, Albart, and the mascot is living it up as this tournament progresses on home soil.

Albart was whipping up the crowd before Spain's 4-1 hammering of Georgia, and the mascot will be hoping he has more to celebrate when Germany meet La Roja on Friday.

Jamie Arnold hurled racist remarks and hand gestures at the former England defender, who was working as a pundit for BT Sport during the match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United on May 23 2021.

The 33-year-old had denied a racially aggravated public order offence but was unanimously convicted on Wednesday following a two-day trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court and will be sentenced on December 8, West Midlands Police said.

Pc Stuart Ward, the UK’s first dedicated hate crime officer within a football unit for West Midlands Police, said: “Abusing anyone for the colour of their skin is disgusting and can never, ever be condoned.

“Arnold is old enough to know such appalling behaviour is inexcusable and certainly won’t be tolerated.

“I know from personal experience how being a victim of racism hurts while offenders risk their own aspirations through getting a criminal record.

“I would like to thank Rio for his assistance in this investigation.

“Through his support, we’ve ensured a man has this conviction to his name.”

Arnold, of Stone, Staffordshire, was arrested at the scene following the offence, which occurred during the first game played at Molineux with fans present since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Crown Prosecution Service said he was caught making racist gestures on CCTV and was seen by several witnesses in the stands.

Mr Ferdinand told a previous trial that he did not see the gestures made by Arnold, but had noted one fan’s “more aggressive body language”.

Arnold was previously banned from games for three years after being found guilty of homophobic abuse and making gestures which mimicked disability during the same game.

He was also ordered to pay almost £900 in fines and court costs, West Midlands Police said.

A spokesman for campaign organisation Kick It Out said: “Kick It Out welcomes the guilty verdict handed to Arnold today.

“It is imperative that perpetrators of discriminatory abuse are held to account for their actions and we hope this result sends a strong statement that racism has no place in our society.

“We commend the CPS and West Midlands Police for their work securing justice in this case and would urge authorities across the country to take similar incidents of discriminatory abuse just as seriously.

“We continue to work with partners across football to tackle discriminatory abuse as it happens and to ensure that victims receive the support they need.

“We would encourage anyone who witnesses discrimination of any sort in future to report it directly to us at Kick It Out.”

Eriksson became the first non-British manager to be appointed England boss when he left Lazio to take over in 2001, turning around their qualification campaign for the 2002 World Cup and securing a spot at the tournament in Japan and South Korea.

With the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Michael Owen, the Three Lions were fancied to make an impact.

But they were beaten by eventual champions Brazil in the last eight. Two years later they fell at the same hurdle in Euro 2004 to Portugal, who also sent England packing in Eriksson's final tournament in charge – the 2006 World Cup.

One of the main legacies of Eriksson's time in charge was a perceived inability to get the best out of England's so-called 'golden generation', but he thinks Southgate has more options at his disposal.

When asked if he feels the current England team was better than his, Eriksson told Stats Perform News: "Maybe not, but they have more choices today than we had.

"Number 20, number 21, the quality went down a bit. It's easier today, there are many hugely talented football players.

"They did well at the last World Cup, they will be even better in the next Euros. It's a new generation. They are young, they are good.

"They have a lot of quality all over. It looks like a very hungry team. They have a lot of pace and that's important.

"If you defend well, then you will be very strong in counterattacks and then, you have a born goalscorer [Harry Kane], and you need that man who can score [many] goals in a major tournament."

Recently, Eriksson was criticised by Ferdinand for apparently urging the former Manchester United centre-back to not play out from the back – but the Swede insists that was not the case.

"He was one of the best central defenders in the world, maybe the best, and as he rightly said, he could play," Eriksson added. "He was a very modern central defender. Football was different then.

"Everybody wants to play like Barcelona, but not everybody should. Not everyone can play like Ferdinand. But that back four was very, very strong.

"I always in all my career was very keen not to lose the ball when we have it in our own half of the pitch: you give opportunities to your opponents to create.

"If you're going to lose it, then do so up front, but if we could play in a secure way from behind, then do it, if not then don't make life difficult for us. But I never ever said don't play from the back."

Euro 2020 was due to start on Friday, but due to the coronavirus pandemic it was postponed for 12 months in March.

England will face Croatia, Czech Republic and as yet undetermined third team, who will be decided by the qualification play-off, when the tournament takes place from June 11, 2021.

Coaches including Jose Mourinho, Fabio Capello, Zinedine Zidane, Carlo Ancelotti, Gareth Southgate and Fabio Capello have joined the 24-man UEFA football board, along with superstar former players Paolo Maldini, Luis Figo, Gareth Bale, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Laudrup, Philipp Lahm and Robbie Keane.

There is one non-European on the board, with Inter's Argentine vice-president Javier Zanetti joining a throng that also includes former Germany team-mates Rudi Voller and Jurgen Klinsmann, plus Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman, Rafael Benitez, Patrick Vieira and Eric Abidal.

The noticeably all-male board will hold its first meeting at UEFA's European House of Football headquarters on Monday.

European football's governing body said the group will "give an institutional yet independent voice of experience and expertise on fundamental football-related topics".

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said: "UEFA is delighted to see that the very ones who have shaped the game's history with their talents and philosophy through decades are gathered again around our common goal – to protect the game of football and its essential values. As we always say: football first!"

Ceferin is campaigning for clarity on football's handball rules, having recently described the law as "really obscure".

"No one understands it any more," Ceferin said. "So we really need a conversation here, finding solutions and clarifying some issues."

He said that would be an issue for the football board to look at, and it was confirmed on Thursday as being on the agenda for the meeting, along with discussions about the video assistant referee system, player behaviour and medical issues.

UEFA said its technical director and chief of football Zvonimir Boban would chair Monday's meeting, although he is not a member of the new board.

UEFA football board members: Jose Mourinho (Portugal), Carlo Ancelotti (Italy), Zinedine Zidane (France), Paolo Maldini (Italy), Fabio Capello (Italy), Javier Zanetti (Argentina), Luis Figo (Portugal), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Ronald Koeman (Netherlands), Gareth Southgate (England), Rio Ferdinand (England), Michael Laudrup (Denmark), Rafael Benitez (Spain), Roberto Martinez (Spain)
Predrag Mijatovic (Montenegro), Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany), Rudi Voller (Germany), Petr Cech (Czech Republic), Juan Mata (Spain), Robbie Keane (Republic of Ireland), Patrick Vieira (France), Henrik Larsson (Sweden), Eric Abidal (France), Gareth Bale (Wales).