St. Louis City will play their first MLS game without Bradley Carnell after the head coach was dismissed ahead of Thursday's meeting with San Jose Earthquakes.

Carnell's departure was confirmed this week after failing to triumph since mid-May, slipping down to 12th in the Western Conference standings after a nine-game winless run.

St. Louis were guided to a first-place finish in the West last season, their maiden campaign in MLS, yet they are preparing for a new era with technical director John Hackworth in interim charge.

"Given Bradley's many contributions to the club, this was not an easy decision,” said City's sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel.

"Unfortunately, based on our results to date, we believe a coaching change is in the best interest of the club as we regroup and look to improve, both our performance and our results."

Hackworth has almost 30 years of coaching experience, including positions within the United States men's national team and MLS rivals Philadelphia Union.

His first task will be downing an out-of-form San Jose, who sit at the bottom of the West standings with just three wins to their name all year.

The Earthquakes are also without a manager after Luchi Gonzalez's dismissal, falling to a 3-0 defeat against LA Galaxy in their first match since his dismissal.

Gonzalez's assistant coach Ian Russell took interim charge for that home humbling, and will be desperate to turn things around as San Jose remain in search of a new full-time boss.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

St. Louis City – Njabulo Blom

Njabulo Blom's seventh-minute goal on Saturday was St. Louis' 10th from outside the box in regular-season play in MLS, with Blom the ninth different player to record one of those strikes.

Blom may fancy his likelihood of adding another long-range strike in this outing, considering the Earthquakes defence is far from convincing.

San Jose Earthquakes – Hernan Lopez

Hernan Lopez has contributed to a goal in each of his first four MLS road games (two goals, two assists), with the midfielder hoping to extend that impressive run here.

However, only two players have recorded a goal contribution in each of their first five MLS road games: Cucho Hernandez (six straight in 2022) and Romain Alessandrini (also six in a row in 2017).

MATCH PREDICTION – ST. LOUIS CITY WIN

The hosts are the heavily backed favourites for victory in this encounter, despite their woeful run of form of late.

St. Louis are winless in their last nine matches, losing six of those. Prior to this run, they had only lost as many games in 27 league matches dating back to June 2023.

Yet, the home side will fancy their chances of arresting that streak given St. Louis beat San Jose twice last season, winning 3-0 and 2-1.

The Earthquakes' form is poor, too, having lost 15 of their first 20 matches this season. Only Tampa Bay Mutiny in 2001 suffered more such losses in the post shoot-out era since 2000.

Only four teams have collected fewer points than San Jose's 11 this year at this stage of a campaign, most recently D.C. United (10) in 2013, and that drab spell could extend here.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

St. Louis City win – 52%

Draw – 24.5%

San Jose Earthquakes win – 23.5%

In the blink of an eye, the Euro 2024 last-16 round is over after Tuesday wrapped up this stage of the competition.

The Netherlands are in the quarter-finals after producing arguably their best performance in Germany, sweeping Group E winners Romania aside with ease.

Turkiye overcame Group D winners Austria in Leipzig and will meet Ronald Koeman's side in the last eight, with the winner potentially facing England in the semi-finals.

After another action-packed day of knockout football, we take a deep dive into the best statistics from the day, using Opta numbers.

Romania 0-3 Netherlands: Malen, Gakpo and Simons star for Oranje

The Netherlands eased past Romania 3-0 to banish demons of previous years by progressing through a European Championship knockout game for the first time since their 2004 penalty shoot-out win over Sweden.

Excluding shoot-out victories, this convincing victory in Munich – inspired by Cody Gakpo and Donyell Malen – was the Dutch's first win in the Euros knockout stages since beating Yugoslavia 6-1 in 2000.

Gakpo scored three goals at the 2022 World Cup and has three so far at this tournament after his fine first-half finish, becoming just the third Dutch player to score 3+ goals at two different major tournaments, along with Johnny Rep (1974 and 1978 World Cups) and Dennis Bergkamp (Euro 1992, World Cups in 1994 and 1998).

In fact, across those last two major international tournaments, only France's Kylian Mbappe (nine goals in 10 games) can better Gakpo's six-strike tally in nine appearances among European players.

The Liverpool man played an instrumental part in the Netherlands' second goal, too, setting up Malen, who added another late on to become the first player to score twice in a single game at Euro 2024.

Malen is also the first substitute to score a brace at the Euros since Savo Milosevic in 2000 for Yugoslavia against Slovenia, but the role of those two forwards should not take away from Xavi Simons' credit.

Simons set up Gakpo's opener, as well as assisting against Austria in Group D, and is the youngest player (21 years, 72 days) to assist in consecutive Euros appearances since Switzerland's Eren Derdiyok at Euro 2008 (20 years, 3 days).

That trio were integral as the Netherlands reached the quarter-finals in consecutive major tournaments for the first time since doing so at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup.

In stark contrast, Romania have now won just two out of 20 matches at the European Championships (D6 L12), with their 10% win ratio the lowest of any nation to play 10+ games in the competition.

Austria 1-2 Turkiye: Record-breaking Demiral secures quarter-final berth

Merih Demiral will be the toast of Turkiye after his double, including a record-breaking opener, powered his side to a 2-1 win over Austria and into the European Championships last eight for the third time.

Demiral needed just 57 seconds to open the scoring, the fastest goal in Euros knockout history and the second earliest in the entire competition ever, to help the Crescent Stars grab another world record.

Turkiye now boast the fastest knockout goal at the Euros, as well as at FIFA's top event (since records began in 1966), with Hakan Sukur also netting after 11 seconds against Korea Republic at the 2002 World Cup.

Yet Demiral was not done there, adding another after the interval to become the first defender to score twice in a game at a major tournament since John Stones for England versus Panama at the 2018 World Cup.

He is also the first player in his position to manage two goals in a knockout-stage game since France's Lilian Thuram against Croatia in the 1998 World Cup semi-finals.

Ralf Rangnick's side halved the arrears through Michael Gregoritsch, who has scored four goals in two appearances against Turkiye, with his other 12 goals for his nation coming against 12 different opponents.

That goal was not enough for Austria but, they achieved a bizarre feat in the process, with this the first match on record (since 1980) at the European Championship to see as many as three goals come via set-pieces.

Austria will look back with regret after consecutive last-16 exits at the Euros, having also accumulated the most expected goals (2.7) by a team that failed to progress from a Euros knockout stage tie, since France against Switzerland in the Euro 2020 round of 16 (3.1).

Turkiye, by contrast, will be looking to the future after they became the second team in the competition's history to name two teenagers (Kenan Yildiz and Arda Guler) in their starting XI for a knockout stage game, following Hungary in 1964 against Denmark.

Ronald Koeman saluted the Netherlands' "outstanding" performance against Romania, as they cruised into the Euro 2024 quarter-finals with a dominant 3-0 victory.

Cody Gakpo was on target - taking his joint-leading goal tally for the tournament to three - while Donyell Malen struck twice from the bench to set up a last-eight clash with Turkiye, who beat Austria 2-1 later in the day.

The Netherlands stumbled through to the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed teams, following a disappointing 3-2 defeat against the Austrians in their final Group D outing.

However, the Oranje were much improved as they ousted Group E winners Romania, and Koeman insisted his players must maintain these performance levels heading into the business end of the tournament.

"It is sometimes difficult to say why you play badly in one game and then can reach a high level the next match," he told reporters during his post-match press conference.

"We were sharp from the beginning today, and that made a difference. Maybe, one critical point is that it took too long to score the second goal.

"The result is always the most important thing, but we are Dutch and in the Netherlands, we have to play well and offensively. We know that.

"The whole performance today was outstanding, and that is what we need to do to continue in this tournament. This is the level. If we go down from this, we won't reach the final."

Koeman was part of the triumphant Dutch side at the 1988 European Championship, which was also held in Germany.

And after guiding his side into their first quarter-final in this competition since 2008, he maintained his players must match the achievements of 36 years ago if they are to be mentioned in the same breath.

"We have great talent in this team," he added. "But, of course, you need to win something, then people can start to make comparisons with 1988."

Turkiye's Merih Demiral produced a record-breaking opener before his second goal secured a 2-1 victory over Austria at Euro 2024, teeing up a quarter-final meeting with the Netherlands.

Ralf Rangnick's side topped Group D ahead of France and Ronald Koeman's Oranje, but came unstuck in the first knockout round on Tuesday in Leipzig.

Demiral scored after just 57 seconds for the fastest knockout-stage goal in European Championship history, before doubling Turkiye's lead, and his own account, after the interval.

Michael Gregoritsch offered Austria hope with his 66th-minute finish, yet Vincenzo Montella's men – saved by last-gasp Mert Gunok heroics – held on to progress into the last-eight clash in Berlin on Saturday.

Demiral struck first with less than a minute on the clock, smashing in from point-blank range after Patrick Pentz tipped away an Austrian deflection from Arda Guler's right-sided corner.

Christoph Baumgartner almost responded immediately, though, dancing towards the perimeter of the area before whistling a right-footed drive narrowly wide of Gunok's left-hand post.

Another chance fell Baumgartner's way moments later as Demiral failed to clear Romano Schmid's corner, though the stretching Austria forward was unable to get the decisive touch at the back post.

Those missed opportunities would come back to haunt Rangnick's side after 59 minutes when Guler delivered another corner onto the head of Demiral, who powered home from inside the six-yard box.

Substitute Gregoritsch halved the arrears just seven minutes later, steering in after Stefan Posch's flick-on before Baumgartner's header was denied by an expert Gunok stop in stoppage time.

That Gunok save will live long in the memory of Turkish supporters after progressing to the quarter-finals for the first time in 16 years.

Data Debrief: Turkiye living in Demiral dreamland

Demiral is the first Turkish player to score a brace at the Euros since Nihat Kahveci against Chechia in 2008, and the first-ever player for his country to do so in the knockout rounds.

Turkiye now have the earliest goal scorers in knockout rounds at both the European Championships and the World Cup (Hakan Sukur versus Korea Republic in 2002 - 0:11), since records began in 1966.

Austria's undoing came at the hands of a familiar foe, too, as Rangnick's men have now gone winless in their last six meetings with Turkiye, who will now hope to down the Netherlands in four days' time.

Iga Swiatek soared into the second round at Wimbledon, after beginning her latest quest for a maiden title with a straight-sets win over Sofia Kenin.

The top seed, who is aiming to progress beyond the quarter-finals at SW19 for the first time, prevailed 6-3 6-4 in the battle of the Grand Slam champions after 79 minutes on No.1 Court.

Swiatek had won the two previous meetings between the players - both of which came in major events, at the 2020 French Open final and this year's Australian Open.

The four-time Roland-Garros winner made a statement of intent, breaking her opponent twice in her opponent's first two service games on the way to taking the opening set.

Former Australian Open champion Kenin, who stunned Coco Gauff in the first round 12 months ago, looked to respond and forced a break-point opportunity at 4-3 down in the second set.

However, the American saw it go begging as she sent a forehand into the net, and the set remained on serve as Swiatek set up a second-round clash with Croatia's Petra Martic.

"On this surface, it's not about the result for me, about the progress," the Pole said in her on-court interview. "I'm just trying to be better every day.

"It was a solid start and not an easy draw, so I'm happy that I have a chance to play another match here. It's not easy to play a Grand Slam champion in the first round, so we have to be ready for everything.

"Obviously, I had a great beginning of the season, so I feel like I can come here and not worry about points or anything, and just focus on what I want to focus on. These are experienced players, so there’s no time to get into the tournament."

Data Debrief: Super Swiatek matches Henin and Radwanska

Swiatek arrived at Wimbledon with five titles to her name already this season, including three on the spin in Madrid, Rome and the French Open.

The world number one has now won each of her last 20 matches, achieving that feat for the second time in her career. Justine Henin in 2005 was the last player to register multiple streaks of 20+ WTA match wins before turning 24.

Notching her fifth straight win against a former major champion, Swiatek has now registered 72 Grand Slam singles wins, more than any other woman since the turn of the century.

She is also only the second player in the Open Era to win in the opening round of all the first 18 major events in a single decade, after compatriot Agnieszka Radwanska did so in the 2010s.

Ben Olsen will be hoping Houston Dynamo can take another step in the "right direction" when they visit Real Salt Lake for Thursday's MLS meeting.

The Dynamo recorded a narrow 1-0 win over Charlotte FC in their last outing, with this the chance to find a third straight victory and continue their resurgent form.

El Naranja sit sixth in the Western Conference standings, one point adrift of the top four, yet head coach Olsen still wants improvements from his Houston roster.

"It's a step in the right direction, we've got a week to recover – Salt Lake away that is never going to be easy," Olsen said after the Charlotte win, looking ahead to RSL.

"And then LAFC comes [to us at home], so it was important to get the last three points.

"The clean sheet is the biggest storyline for us at the minute."

RSL will be the hosts at America First Field, aiming to respond to a surprise 1-0 defeat against LA Galaxy last time out.

Gabriel Pec's second-half finish was enough for a 1-0 win for the Galaxy in that meeting, downing Pablo Mastroeni's men, who dropped down to third in the West table.

Having suffered their first defeat in seven home outings, Mastroeni will be desperate for improvements and close the gap on the two-top duo – the Galaxy and Los Angeles FC.

Carlos Andres Gomez will miss this one through suspension after accumulating five yellow cards this season, while Houston's Franco Escobar will be out for the same reason.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Real Salt Lake – Cristian Arango

Cristian Arango has scored just one goal in five career MLS matches against Houston (including playoffs), averaging 0.30 goals per 90 minutes.

The only opponent he has faced three or more times with a lower scoring rate is Vancouver (no goals in six games), can Arango end that spell against Houston here?

Houston Dynamo – Ibrahim Aliyu

Ibrahim Aliyu scored in the fifth minute against Charlotte on Saturday, and the Dynamo man will hope to race out the blocks once more in Salt Lake.

It was the second-earliest goal Houston has ever scored in a 1-0 win in MLS play with only Stuart Holden doing so earlier, netting in the fourth minute of a 1-0 win over Chicago in 2009.

MATCH PREDICTION – REAL SALT LAKE WIN

Real Salt Lake saw their 15-match undefeated streak ended last time out but still appear the narrow favourites for this clash.

However, the Charlotte defeat left RSL with just two wins from their last six matches, while Houston are on their own impressive unbeaten run.

The Dynamo are undefeated in six outings, only producing just one longer unbeaten run within a single regular season over the last decade – a seven-match streak from July to September last season.

Houston also did not lose any of their six meetings with RSL last season (W3 D3), though those three wins are the Dynamo's only successes in this fixture since 2017.

RSL will be desperate to find a form of yesteryear and restore their imperious head-to-head record this time around.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Real Salt Lake win – 51.2%

Draw – 24.8%

Houston Dynamo win – 24%

Turkiye's Merih Demiral scored after just 57 seconds on Tuesday, shattering the record for the fastest goal in the history of the European Championship knockout rounds.

The Turkiye defender profited from two fortuitous deflections from an early corner, rocketing into the roof of the net to open the scoring against Austria in the last 16.

That strike marked the fastest goal for Turkiye at major tournaments (World Cup or Euros) since Hakan Sukur against Korea Republic at the 2002 World Cup (11 seconds), another competition record.

Remarkably, there were no goals in the first minute of a match in the first 16 editions of the European Championships (1960-2020) – now there have been two in the opening minute at Euro 2024.

A youthful Turkiye side also became the first team in the Euros knockout stages to name two teenagers (Kenan Yildiz and Arda Guler) in their starting XI since Hungary in 1964 against Denmark.

At the age of 25 years and 254 days, Turkiye named the youngest starting XI in a European Championship knockout stage game as well, since Belgium against Wales at Euro 2016 (24y 242d).

The United States crashed out of the Copa America following a 1-0 defeat by Uruguay, who advanced to the quarter-finals as Group C winners.

The defeat at Arrowsmith Stadium – coupled with Panama's 3-1 victory over bottom side Bolivia – culminated in the Stars and Stripes falling at the first hurdle in their home tournament.

Though both sides were generally lacking a creative spark in the final third, Mathias Olivera's 66th-minute strike was enough to seal the hosts' fate.

Meanwhile, Uruguay ensured a 100% record as they marched into the last eight, where a showdown with the Group D runners-up, likely to be Brazil or Colombia, awaits them in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Each side lost a player to injury during a disjointed first half in Kansas City. 

Uruguay's Maximiliano Araujo was stretchered off with suspected concussion following an aerial collision with Tim Ream in the 27th minute, while Folarin Balogun limped off for the hosts four minutes before the break.

The closest either team came to breaking the deadlock was when a quickly taken Uruguay free-kick released Nahitan Nandez, whose clipped effort was cleared away by Ream.

Just after the hour mark, news filtered through from Orlando that Bolivia had equalised against Panama to move Gregg Berhalter's side back up to second place in Group C. 

However, the joy was short-lived as a Uruguay free-kick saw Matt Turner parry Ronald Araujo's fierce header straight to Olivera, who just about stayed onside to tuck home the rebound from close range.

Panama regained their lead soon after to leave the Stars and Stripes needing two goals to stand any chance of progressing.

Christian Pulisic and Haji Wright both saw deflected efforts blocked on the line, but that was as close as the tournament hosts came to finding a route back into the contest, as their stubborn opponents held out to inflict the defeat that ended hopes of home glory. 

Unblemished Uruguay make Copa America history

When it comes to the Copa America, you write Uruguay off at your peril.

After all, La Celeste have won the competition 15 times – the most recent of these triumphs coming in 2011. It is a tally only matched by reigning champions Argentina. They have also only failed to progress beyond the group stages once in the last 25 years (2016).

And for the first time in their history, Uruguay have now registered a 100% record in a single group stage, while they have also started a single campaign with three straight wins for the first time since 1959.

Marcelo Bielsa was serving a touchline ban, but will return to the dugout for the quarter-finals. Having led Argentina to the final of this competition in 2004, he would love to go the extra step with La Celeste two decades on and get his hands on this trophy.

Unwanted history for departing host nation

For the first time at an international tournament, the USA have failed to advance from the group stage after winning their opening match, having progressed in each of the 23 previous instances.

Despite the defeat against Panama last time out, Berhalter stuck with continuity as his only change was an enforced one with Munus replacing the suspended Timothy Weah.

It meant 10 players had started all three group games for the Stars and Stripes in a major competition for only the fourth time (the feat also occurring at the 1950 World Cup, 1994 World Cup and 2016 Copa America).

Previously unbeaten against Uruguay, they had won their final group match at each of their last six tournaments.

However, their xG of 0.58 demonstrated the lacking of a clinical edge in the final third, with just three shots on target throughout the entire contest.

And despite the best efforts of the Kansas City crowd to rally the players, the hosts just could not get going, and you could not see a route back for them once they fell behind. That proved to be the case.

USA crashed out of the Copa America following a 1-0 defeat by Uruguay, who advanced to the quarter-finals as Group C winners.

The defeat at Arrowsmith Stadium – coupled with Panama's 3-1 victory over bottom side Bolivia – culminated in the Stars and Stripes falling at the first hurdle in their own tournament.

Though both sides were generally lacking a creative spark in the final third, Mathias Olivera's 66th-minute strike was enough to seal the hosts' fate.

Meanwhile, Uruguay ensured a 100% record as they marched into the last eight, where a showdown with the Group D runners-up awaits them in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Each side lost a player to injury during a disjointed first half in Kansas City. 

Uruguay's Maximiliano Araujo was stretchered off with suspected concussion following an aerial collision with Tim Ream in the 27th minute, while Folarin Balogun limped off for the hosts four minutes before the break.

The closest either team came to breaking the deadlock was on 33 minutes when a quickly taken Uruguay free-kick released Nahitan Nandez, whose clipped effort towards goal was cleared away by Ream.

Just after the hour mark, news filtered through from Orlando that Bolivia had equalised against Panama to move Gregg Berhalter's side back up to second place in Group C. 

However, the joy was short-lived as a Uruguay free-kick saw Matt Turner parry Ronald Araujo's fierce header straight to Olivera, who just about stayed onside to tuck home the rebound from close range.

Panama regained their lead soon after to leave the Stars and Stripes needing two goals to stand any chance of progressing.

Christian Pulisic and Haji Wright both saw deflected efforts blocked on the line, but that was as close as the tournament hosts came to finding a route back into the contest, as their stubborn opponents held out to inflict the defeat that ended hopes of home glory. 

Unblemished Uruguay make Copa America history

When it comes to the Copa America, you write Uruguay off at your peril.

After all, La Celeste have won the competition 15 times – the most recent of these triumphs coming in 2011. It is a tally only matched by reigning champions Argentina. They have also only failed to progress beyond the group stages once in the last 25 years (2016).

And for the first time in their history, Uruguay have now registered a 100% record in a single group stage, while they have also started a single campaign with three straight wins for the first time since 1959.

Marcelo Bielsa was serving a touchline ban, but will return to the dugout for the quarter-finals. Having led Argentina to the final of this competition in 2004, he would love to go the extra step with La Celeste two decades on and get his hands on this trophy.

Unwanted history for departing host nation

For the first time at an international tournament, USA have failed to advance from the group stage after winning their opening match, having progressed in each of the 23 previous instances.

Despite the defeat against Panama last time out, Berhalter stuck with continuity as his only change was an enforced one with Munus replacing the suspended Timothy Weah.

It meant 10 players had started all three group games for the Stars and Stripes in a major competition for only the fourth time (the feat also occurring at the 1950 World Cup, 1994 World Cup and 2016 Copa America).

Previously unbeaten against Uruguay, they had won their final group match at each of their last six tournaments.

However, their xG of 0.58 demonstrated the lacking of a clinical edge in the final third, with just three shots on target throughout the entire contest.

And despite the best efforts of the Kansas City crowd to rally the players, the hosts just could not get going, and you could not see a route back for them once they fell behind. That proved to be the case.

Coco Gauff cruised through to the second round at Wimbledon following a dominant straight-sets victory over compatriot Caroline Dolehide.

The second seed dropped just three games as she prevailed 6-1 6-2 after just 65 minutes on Centre Court.

Gauff was desperate to avert a second successive first-round defeat at SW19, where she was ousted by 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in round one a year ago.

However, the 20-year-old responded superbly to that setback, winning 57 of her following 70 matches, while claiming her maiden major silverware at the US Open.

Gauff had reached the semi-finals at her last three events, including the French Open, and built on that momentum with a commanding display against the world number 51.

At one point, she reeled off eight successive games on the way to setting up a second-round clash with Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni.

Data Debrief: Gauff matches Williams with statement win

There was no stopping Gauff in the final match of day one on Centre Court.

The world number two won 86% of her first-serve point, double-faulting just once, while she won nine out of 10 net points, and converted six of her 10 break point opportunities.

Now having won each of her first 17 matches in successive seasons against players ranked outside the WTA's top 50, she is the first player aged 21 or under to achieve the feat since Serena Williams in 2001 and 2002.

It was another dramatic day in the Euro 2024 knockout rounds, as two more teams booked their places in the quarter-finals.

England fought back from the jaws of defeat as they secured an extra-time win over Slovakia to set up a meeting with Switzerland in the last eight.

Meanwhile, Spain broke Georgia hearts with their comeback victory, and will play Germany in an eye-catching last-eight tie.

Here, we round up the best Opta statistics from the second day of the last 16.

England 2-1 Slovakia (aet): Bellingham, Kane prove late heroes

It looked like England were going to make an embarrassing early exit from the tournament, until Jude Bellingham stepped up with a spectacular overhead kick in stoppage time before Harry Kane netted the winner.

Timed at 94 minutes and 34 seconds, Bellingham's goal was the latest ever for England in normal time at the Euros, coming from the Three Lions' first shot on target after a largely toothless performance.

Kane, on his record-breaking 79th competitive appearance for England, got the timing right too, heading home just 50 seconds into extra time for the fastest goal scored in that period in the competition's history.

The England captain has now scored 14 goals at major tournaments (World Cup and Euros), with only four European players netting more than him – Cristiano Ronaldo (22), Miroslav Klose (19), Gerd Muller (18) and Jurgen Klinsmann (16).

It marked the fourth game that England have won from a losing position at the European Championships as well, after losing their first six such matches.

Only France (five) have ever won more matches when conceding first in the competition, and that late, late show left Slovakia stunned after being just moments from a famous victory in Gelsenkirchen.

Ivan Schranz's third goal at this Euros seemed set to take the headlines, with only Robert Vittek (four) at the 2010 World Cup ever scoring more at a single major tournament for Slovakia, but the forward will not get a chance to equal that record.

Spain 4-1 Georgia: La Roja march on with comeback win

Spain are the only team in the tournament to win all of their games so far, and survived an early scare to come out on top in Cologne thanks to second-half goals from Fabian Ruiz, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo.

Robin Le Normand's 18th-minute own goal saw Luis de la Fuente's side concede for the first time at Euro 2024, only for Spain to rally to the biggest margin of victory by a team that conceded first in the competition.

Spain amassed 17 shots on goal in the first half but only Rodri's first major tournament goal hit the net. It is the most on record (since 1980) by a team in the opening half of a European Championship knockout game.

Indeed, La Roja's 35 shots overall were their most in a single match at either the World Cup (since 1966) or the Euros.

It was the youngsters who stole the spotlight once more as Lamine Yamal got his second assist at the Euros, with Cristiano Ronaldo the last teenager to tee up multiple goals at a single edition (Euro 2004 when he helped Portugal reach the final).

Williams, meanwhile, became the first player on record at the European Championships (since 1980) to score a goal, assist another and complete 100% of his passes (46/46) in a game he started.

Georgia's fairytale was ended by a familiar, formidable foe as they have now lost all seven of their competitive meetings with Spain, conceding 23 goals and netting just four of their own.

Spain avoided an early Euro 2024 scare against Georgia to make it into the quarter-finals with a 4-1 comeback victory in Cologne.

Rodri cancelled out Robin Le Normand's 18th-minute own goal before the break on Sunday, and a spirited Spain rallied in the second half to leave Georgia powerless.

Fabian Ruiz fired Spain into the lead shortly after the break, with Nico Williams and Dani Olmo making sure of the victory late on to end Georgia's fairytale run at this European Championship.

Luis de la Fuente's side will next face the hosts Germany in a marquee quarter-final meeting in Stuttgart on Friday.

Giorgi Mamardashvili was the most worked goalkeeper in the group stages, and he was called into early action against Spain, making two early saves to deny Pedri and Dani Carvajal.

La Roja were stunned shortly after as they conceded for the first time in the tournament – Le Normand was unfortunate to turn Otar Kakabadze's whipped cross into the back of his own net.

Mamardashvili remained alert when Spain upped the pressure again, getting down sharply to keep out Marc Cucurella's low strike before pushing away Williams' curler.

The Georgia goalkeeper was left helpless moments later though, when an unmarked Rodri picked out the bottom-right corner from the edge of the box for his first major tournament goal.

Spain survived an early warning after the break as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia audaciously tried to catch out Unai Simon from the halfway line, but his hopeful effort bounced narrowly wide.

Fabian flipped the script shortly after, peeling off the back of Georgia’s backline to thump a header past Mamardashvili from point-blank range following Lamine Yamal's sumptuous delivery.

Yamal, desperate to get on the scoresheet himself, almost capitalised on a mistake by Georgia's defence but dragged another attempt narrowly wide of Mamardashvili's goal.

Giorgi Gvelesiani's blushes were spared by a tight offside call as he turned another dangerous Yamal cross into his own net, though Spain would soon extend their lead.

Williams raced forward on the counter down the left flank, leaving his marker in his tracks before rifling his right-footed rocket into the roof of the net 15 minutes from time.

Olmo added some more gloss to the scoreline in the 83rd minute, latching onto Mikel Oyarzabal's throughball to nestle his shot into the bottom corner and send Spain coasting into the last eight.

The kids are alright

It may have been a couple of the older players in Spain's squad that got the all-important goals in Cologne, but La Roja's youngsters continued to shine.

Yamal became the first teenager since Cristiano Ronaldo at Euro 2004 to assist multiple goals (two) at a single edition of the competition, while only Fabian managed as many shots as the winger's seven.

Meanwhile, Pedri made his fourth start in the knockout stages of the Euros, the most of any player aged 21 or under in the competition's history.

It is the second time Williams has both scored and assisted in a game for Spain, with the other also coming against Georgia in September 2023.

With Williams also getting his first assist in the tournament, it looks like the youngsters are on course to keep leading the team forward as they prepare to meet the hosts in Stuttgart.

Georgia's fairytale cut short

After pulling off a stunning victory over Euro 2016 winners Portugal in their final Group F game, Georgia came into the last 16 with another upset in mind.

It looked like that could be possible too, as they took another early lead, all despite not having a shot in the game up to that point.

Mamardashvili had saved 21 of the 22 shots on target he had faced prior to Rodri's goal, but he was helpless as Spain upped the pressure on Sunday.

William Sagnol's team go out with their heads held high despite their exit, after a debut tournament to remember.

Spain midfielder Pedri has surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo to set a new record for the most major tournament appearances by any European player aged 21 or under.

At the age of 21 years and 218 days, Pedri made his 13th European Championship or World Cup appearance during Spain's last-16 match against Georgia at Euro 2024 on Sunday.

It is also the fourth game the Barcelona midfielder has started in the Euros knockout stages while aged 21 or under, the most of any such player.

That ensured he beat Ronaldo's tally of 12 tournament outings for Portugal before turning 22, which came at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.

Pedri made his senior international debut as an 18-year-old in March 2021, going on to enjoy a breakout tournament at the delayed Euro 2020 as Spain reached the semi-finals before suffering penalty shoot-out heartache against eventual champions Italy.

He won UEFA's Young Player of the Tournament award for that competition, having completed more passes in the opposition half (317) than any other player.

Only Jordi Alba, Marco Verratti (both 12) and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (11) bettered his tally of 10 open-play chances created, meanwhile.

After playing all six of Spain's games at Euro 2020, he was also an ever present at the 2022 World Cup, ranking 12th among all players for open-play passes (426) despite La Roja exiting at the last-16 stage having only played four matches.

In the first two matchdays at this tournament, Pedri led all Roja players for chances created (six), assisting Fabian Ruiz's goal in their 3-0 win over Croatia.

He has some way to go to match Ronaldo's overall achievements at that tender age, though.

Ronaldo registered two goals and two assists as Portugal finished as Euro 2004 runners-up to Greece on home soil, then helped them to a fourth-place finish at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol managed 11 major tournament appearances for Croatia (four at Euro 2020, seven at the 2022 World Cup) before he turned 22 earlier this year, putting him one behind Ronaldo but unable to draw level.

Pedri's new record could yet come under threat from England talisman Jude Bellingham, however. 

Bellingham drew level with Pedri on 12 earlier on Sunday when England faced Slovakia in the round of 16, having already made 11 Euros/World Cup appearances to better the tallies recorded by Spain's Cesc Fabregas, Belgium's Enzo Scifo and Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger before turning 22.

With Bellingham not turning 22 until next June, he could yet seize the record if Spain suffer a swift exit and England go all the way at this year's competition.

By scoring the winner in the Three Lions' opening Group C fixture against Serbia, Bellingham became the first European player to appear at three different tournaments before turning 21, featuring at Euro 2020, the Qatar World Cup and Euro 2024.

He is also just the second player to score at both the Euros and the World Cup while under 21, after fellow Englishman Michael Owen, who netted at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. 

Harry Kane lauded England's last-gasp hero Jude Bellingham as "one of the best in the country's history" after his stunning finish saved the Three Lions against Slovakia.

Bellingham crashed in an overhead kick after 94 minutes in Gelsenkirchen, levelling the last-16 clash at Euro 2024 following Ivan Schranz's first-half opener on Sunday.

Kane headed past Martin Dubrvaka just 50 seconds into extra time, the fastest such goal in Euros history, as Gareth Southgate's side scraped into a last-eight meeting with Switzerland on Saturday.

The England captain reserved special praise for Bellingham, whose finish – timed at 94 minutes and 34 seconds – marked England's latest goal in European Championship history.

"We work on so many details throughout the week, we put in a long throw late a couple of days ago and we said we might need it," Kane told ITV after the 2-1 victory at Arena AufSchalke.

"Then obviously Jude does what Jude does, what an unbelievable goal and he's kept our tournament alive.

"One of the best in our country's history, what a player he is. He works so hard for the team and there's been a lot of talk about him the last couple of days, but it shows what he can do.

"In the big moments he steps up and that's what we need, we need everyone to step up in moments and he's done that today."

England have won their last four games having conceded first at the European Championship, after losing their first six such matches.

Only France (5) have won more games after conceding first in the competition's history, and Kane says that battling aspect of England's game can only serve them well.

"That's the desire and the attitude from the boys and everyone involved," Kane added. "It looked tough for a second but you keep going.

"All I can say is incredible support, I know the fans back home would have enjoyed that, but what a win.

"That comes down to preparations, we had a lot of attacking players on the pitch and then the subs at the end were brilliant. In this competition, you have to find a way to win and we did that.

"We know we will do whatever it takes, if we have another game like this in the quarter-finals then we will do it.

"This team knows how to dig deep, we've got to be better but ultimately it's a results business so we can enjoy this."

Jude Bellingham salvaged England's Euro 2024 hopes before Harry Kane's extra-time finish proved the difference in a 2-1 comeback victory over Slovakia in Sunday's last-16 clash.

Gareth Southgate's team appeared to be heading for an early exit in Gelsenkirchen after Ivan Schranz opened the scoring midway through the first half with his third goal of the Euros.

Phil Foden saw an equaliser disallowed soon after the interval and Declan Rice was denied by the post late on, only for Bellingham to deliver a heroic overhead-kick equaliser five minutes into stoppage time.

Kane then headed home from point-blank range just 50 seconds into extra time for the fastest such goal in Euros history, stealing victory from the jaws of defeat to tee up a last-eight meeting with Switzerland.

England suffered an early blow as Marc Guehi's third-minute caution saw him ruled out of the last-eight clash through suspension, while Slovakia twice went close in the early stages.

David Hancko drove narrowly wide before England were nearly caught out again when Lukas Haraslin's deflected effort almost slipped past Jordan Pickford.  

A lacklustre England defence was finally punished after 25 minutes as David Strelec rolled through for Schranz to brush off Guehi before poking into the bottom-left corner.

England thought they had levelled just minutes after the interval, only for Foden to be ruled offside from Kieran Trippier's selfless cross before a routine tap-in.

The Three Lions survived a scare soon after as John Stones switched off from a short free-kick, with Strelec almost lobbing Pickford from the centre-circle.

Cole Palmer was eventually introduced after 66 minutes, with the ineffective Bukayo Saka moved to left-back, but that change did little to alter England's fortunes.

Kane headed wide a glorious opportunity from Foden's free-kick, while Rice cannoned a driving effort against the woodwork from range – but England would be saved by Bellingham.

Kyle Walker's long throw-in was nudged on by Guehi before Bellingham wrong-footed Martin Dubravka with an astonishing overhead finish from the penalty spot, keeping England alive in the dying seconds.

That joy turned to further jubilation moments into the additional 30 minutes as Eberechi Eze's scuffed volley found Ivan Toney, who flicked into the path of Kane to head past Dubravka from point-blank range.

Peter Pekarik should have levelled after 105 minutes but somehow lifted over from the back post as England scraped into the quarter-finals following a thriller at Arena AufSchalke.

England still alive, barely

Kane (79) overtook Peter Shilton (78) as the player with the most ever competitive appearances for England, but a landmark outing appeared set to turn sour.

England had won five of six previous meetings with Slovakia but, as was the case against Iceland in 2016, the Three Lions were somewhat toothless against what FIFA's world rankings would perceive to be a lesser side.

Yet unlike against Iceland, England had a new hero in Bellingham as his goal, timed at 94 minutes and 34 seconds, marked the latest goal for his country in Euros history.

That paved the way for a familiar face to wrap up a remarkable turnaround as Kane scored his 14th goal in major tournaments – only four European players have ever managed more.

Cristiano Ronaldo (22), Miroslav Klose (19), Gerd Muller (18) and Jurgen Klinsmann (16) are the quartet to achieve the feat, and Kane will hope to catch the latter when England meet Switzerland next time out.

Super Schranz heroics in vain

Schranz has scored three goals in four games for Slovakia at Euro 2024, as many as he had netted in 22 games for his country coming into the tournament (three).

The forward is now the joint-top scorer at this tournament, while only Robert Vittek at the 2010 World Cup (four) has ever scored more goals for Slovakia at a major tournament.

Yet Schranz's heroics for Matjaz Kek's side ultimately proved in vain as Slovakia were finally undone by late England pressure, with Southgate's side equalising from their first shot on target.

Though this battling performance will deservedly bring plaudits, Slovakia have now lost six of seven meetings with England and are heading home from Euro 2024.