Related items

• England criticism stems from high expectations, says defiant Gordon

  Anthony Gordon acknowledged England must improve to "give people what they want to see" as the winger suggested criticism stems from high expectations.

  The Newcastle United forward is yet to start at Euro 2024 but has impressed from the bench, albeit in underwhelming England performances.

  Gareth Southgate's side topped Group C to set up a last-16 meeting with Slovakia on Sunday, though draws against Denmark and Slovenia, and an unconvincing win against Serbia has added scrutiny.

  An honest appraisal from Gorden suggests England are well aware of their shortfalls so far, though the 23-year-old expects his team to respond in Gelsenkirchen.

  "I don't really care about stuff like that, I actually think of it in a positive way," Gordon said at Friday's pre-match press conference.

  "If people are being negative it's only because they expect a lot from you, which is a positive thing.

  "If we want that to stop, we just need to perform and give people what they want to see."

  Some sections of the travelling England support jeered Southgate at full-time after the goalless draw with Slovenia on Tuesday, though Gordon again came away with credibility.

  Manchester United and Three Lions great Wayne Rooney insisted Gordon should be brought into the starting XI for the last-16 clash after some fine cameos from the substitutes bench.

  His form for Newcastle has caught the eye as well, with the former Everton man managing 12 goals and 11 assists in 48 games across all competitions this season.

  Yet Gordon says he is not the type of player to go knocking on Southgate's door to demand more minutes.

  "I just like to try my best and control the controllable," Gordon said.

  "I think if I train to the very best of my ability, do the best I can every day, that's my way of giving him a headache in terms of selection, and the rest I can't control.

  "Try my best and make selection as hard for him as I possibly can. When or if I'm needed, I'll be more than ready."

• With or without you: Should Southgate drop Foden and does Ronaldo deserve his place?

  With the group stages behind us, Euro 2024 now enters the business end of the tournament, when there's no more margin for error.

  The favourites are all through in the main, with Croatia the biggest name to drop out in the group stage.

  There are some surprise packages that have made the last 16 too, though: tournament debutants Georgia stunned Portugal to reach this stage, while Austria finished above France and the Netherlands to top Group D.

  But as the tournament goes on, there are some serious questions being asked of the respective coaches when it comes to team selections, while other players nurse knocks ahead of the knockouts.

  And here, using Opta data, we take a look at some of those selection dilemmas.

   

  Should Southgate drop Foden and can Shaw stay fit?

  Phil Foden came into Euro 2024 on the back of a magnificent season for Manchester City. He was named the Premier League Player of the Year, scoring 19 goals in 35 top-flight appearances in 2023-24.

  Yet playing out on the left side of England's attack, with Jude Bellingham deployed centrally, Foden has failed to replicate that form for the Three Lions.

  Anthony Gordon directly contributed to 21 Premier League goals for Newcastle United (11 goals, 10 assists), and appears able to offer the kind of directness that seems to be missing from England's attack.

  Gordon would seemingly replace Foden if he were to start, so what is England's recent record at major tournaments without the City star?

   

  Foden has featured in 10 games at the World Cup and Euros for England, who have won six of those games, drawing three and losing one. They score 1.8 goals per game with him in the team compared to 1.6 in the five tournament matches in which he has not featured.

  Defensively, England do seem a little more solid when Foden does not feature, with their goals conceded per game dropping from 0.6 with him in, to 0.2 without the 24-year-old.

  Behind Foden, though, the left-back position is an issue. Luke Shaw has not played for club or country since February, but Kieran Trippier has failed to offer the same attacking output or balance while deputising, and could be an injury doubt ahead of England's clash with Slovakia.

  The sense of Southgate in taking an unfit Shaw can certainly be questioned, though when factoring in major tournaments only, you can understand why.

  England have a 58.3% win percentage (7/12) when Shaw is in the team compared to a 35.3% (6/17) success rate when he is not, while conceding double the amount of goals per 90 without Shaw (1.0 to 0.5).

  Does Ronaldo deserve Martinez's backing?

  Cristiano Ronaldo is the record appearance maker (28) and goalscorer (14) at the Euros, but at 39, should he be spearheading Portugal's attack?

   

  Ronaldo failed to score from 12 shots in the group stage, as for the first time at a major tournament, he did not manage to hit the back of the net in the first round.

  The Al-Nassr striker scored 10 goals from qualifying, but against more resilient defences, he has found it tougher, and against Georgia he was kept quiet, though he did spurn one Opta-defined 'big chance'.

  Ronaldo's appearance against Georgia marked his 50th such match at a major tournament, a European record, with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner having only sat out two fixtures at a World Cup or Euros since 2004. Portugal have a 46% win ratio with him in their team in major competitions, but is it time to cut the cord?

   

  France need Mbappe's magic

  Kylian Mbappe recovered from a broken nose to play, while donning a mask, for France against Poland last time out, and it was his penalty that put Les Bleus ahead before Robert Lewandowski equalised from the spot.

  That marked Mbappe's first goal at the Euros, while he is now just one behind Michel Platini (14) in France's all-time list of record goalscorers at major tournaments.

  France recorded 2.32 xG against Poland, with Mbappe accounting for 1.31 of that. In the match that he missed, a 0-0 draw against the Netherlands, Les Bleus mustered only 1.43 xG, showing how much Mbappe was missed.

  Missing out

  There are some big players who definitely will not be featuring in the last 16, and that is due to the fact they are suspended after picking up two yellow cards throughout the group stage.

  Italy's Riccardo Calafiori has been one of the stars of the tournament, but the Bologna defender will not play against Switzerland on Saturday.

  Hosts Germany will also be without a key defender in Jonathan Tah.

  This campaign has been Tah's first at a major tournament, but the Bayer Leverkusen centre-back has been impressive so far and will be a miss when Germany go up against Denmark.

  Turkiye, meanwhile, will have to play Austria without Hakan Calhanoglu.

  The Inter playmaker has only missed one match for his country at a major tournament, though Turkiye did win that one, but facing in-form Austria without their best player is a daunting prospect. 

   

• The Numbers Game: Can Georgia's dream run continue at Euro 2024?

  Following the conclusion of the Euro 2024 group stages, Spain remain the only team to win all their games ahead of their last-16 tie against Georgia in Cologne. 

  La Roja ended their group campaign with a 1-0 victory over Albania that featured a much-changed side, with Ferran Torres' early strike enough to secure the win.

  However, they will face a Georgia side brimming with self-belief after their maiden triumph at a major international tournament over Portugal last time out. 

  Willy Sagnol's side have captured the hearts of football fans across the world, but know the enormity of the task ahead of them, with these teams having played against each other during qualifying.

  Many expect Spain to maintain their winning start at Euro 2024, but as this tournament has proved already, anything can happen. 

  Here, we use Opta data to preview Sunday's clash.

  What's expected?

  Spain are expected to win this one, with the Opta supercomputer handing them a dominant 75% chance of getting the job done in Cologne.

  Georgia triumphed in just 10.7% in the data-led simulations, with a draw forecast slightly higher at 14.4%. 

  This will be Spain's eighth meeting with Georgia, but their first at a major tournament. La Roja have won six of their seven matches against the minnows in all competitions, all of which have been since 2012.

  Spain won both qualifying games by an aggregate score of 10-2 (7-1 away, 3-1 home), but the tournament version of Georgia could present a much sterner test.

  And Luis de la Fuente's team must approach with caution, as Spain's recent record in the knockout stages has been far from impressive.

  They were eliminated in the last 16 of the 2018 World Cup and 2022 World Cup, losing on penalties to Russia and Morocco respectively, though they did reach the semi-finals of Euro 2020.

  With much of the spotlight on Spain's attack, their defence has impressed, and they are yet to concede a goal in Germany. The last time they managed to keep four consecutive clean sheets at a major tournament was back in 2012 (a run of five) – the last time they claimed silverware.

  Spain's vibrant attackers are also set to come up against the tournament's in-form goalkeeper.

   

  Georgia's Giorgi Mamardashvili, who plays for Valencia, has saved 16 of the last 17 shots on target he has faced at Euro 2024, and he could be in for another busy day.

  Willy Sagnol's side faced the most shots (71), most on target (25), and had the highest xG conceded (8.1) of any nation in the group stage, with the only side to face more than 71 shots in the group stage of a Euros being Latvia in 2004 (86).

  However, Georgia's performances in Group F have given them the confidence to be fearless against the three-time European Champions. A win will see them become the fourth team since the quarter-finals were introduced to reach that stage in their first Euros. 

  Spain's depth of quality 

  Riding the crest of a new wave of emerging talent, Spain are back among the best teams in world football, with Luis Enrique's possession obsession having gone stale.

  De la Fuente made 10 changes against Albania, and their strength in depth, which has lacked in major tournaments gone by, is definitely a key quality.

  Torres, for example, scored the only goal against Albania and has now seen him directly involved in seven goals across nine appearances for Spain under De la Fuente (five goals, two assists), with no Spain player being involved in more goals under him, but the Barcelona forward is unlikely to start on Sunday.

   

  Dani Olmo provided his fourth assist at the European Championship finals on what was his seventh such appearance, with only Cesc Fabregas providing more for Spain in the competition since records began in 1964 (five), but he too has had to settle for a back-up role in Germany.

  And finally, Alex Grimaldo created five chances against Albania, the most of any Spanish defender in a single match at a major tournament on record (since 1980). Yet Marc Cucurella was preferred at left-back in the first two matches. 

  It is likely that a more familiar Spanish side will take to the pitch, but the head coach will have confidence in his bench players to make an impact, should they be needed.

  Attack is the best form of defence for Georgia

  Georgia are under no illusions that they must upset the odds to keep their fairytale run at Euro 2024 alive, but getting on the front foot early, as they did against Portugal, seems to be their best hope.

  Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's goal after 01:32 is the earliest Portugal has ever conceded in the competition, and another Georgian will be hard-pressed to break what is now a national record at a major tournament.

  Georges Mikautadze's penalty ensured Georgia inflicted the Selecao's first competitive defeat under coach Roberto Martínez.

  They became the first European nation to qualify from the group stage in their first major tournament since Iceland at Euro 2016 and have the attacking talent to continue their journey. 

  Kvaratskhelia proved a considerable thorn in Portugal's side during their encounter, registering the joint-most shots (three) of anyone on the pitch while leading the way in shots on target (two) and touches in the opposition box (four) for Georgia.

  On the other hand, they conceded 22 shots and had just 27.6% possession, but showcased their clinical nature, outperforming their expected goals (xG) by 0.35. 

   

  PLAYERS TO WATCH 

  Spain - Lamine Yamal

  At 17, Lamine Yamal has taken to his first major tournament like a seasoned professional as he continues to impress on the international stage. 

  Yamal is yet to find the back of the net for La Roja in Germany, but registered an assist for Dani Carvajal's header against Croatia in their opening game. 

  And his creativity, along with that of Nico Williams, in wide areas could be pivotal. They have each created 5+ chances and completed 5+ dribbles at Euro 2024.  This is the first time multiple players have done so for Spain in a group stage at a major tournament since Andres Iniesta and David Silva at Euro 2016.

  Georgia - Georges Mikautadze

  If you said a striker from the lowest-ranked team in the tournament would be the top scorer after the group stages, many would have scoffed. But Georgia and Mikautadze continue to rip up the script in Germany. 

  Mikautadze has played a part in all four of Georgia’s goals at Euro 2024, scoring three and setting up another, with his latest strike coming from the penalty spot in their triumph over Portugal. 

  He became only the fourth player to score in each of his country's first three matches at the Euros after Gareth Bale for Wales (2016), Hristo Stoichkov for Bulgaria (1996) and Viktor Ponedelnik for USSR (1960 & 1964).