• France v Belgium (5pm BST), Portugal v Slovenia (8pm)
• Player guide | Golden Boot | And you can email Gregg

How refreshing were Georgia at the Euros? Without the ball they were like Big Sam’s Bolton, compact and drilled. With it they were like Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool (circa 2019-22), a counter-attacking dragster. We’ll miss The Crusaders. Here’s what head coach Willy Sagnol had to say after the 4-1 defeat by Spain:

We are so happy and proud of what we have done the last days, the last weeks. Sometimes you have to step back and take a look at what you have done. We can sit in peace and quiet and everyone and be very happy of the last year because the development of the team and squad has been fantastic. I am very proud of that.

If he wants to, he should go. If it’s Napoli or Paris or whatever, I just want him to be happy and to still play with a lot of emotions, because that is how he gets so fantastic. I just wish him all the best in his career.”

Togetherness and confidence inspired by Red Bull empire is having a lasting effect on surprise contenders

Just outside the centre circle of Austria’s training pitch, Ralf Rangnick stood deep in discussion with his assistant Lars Kornetka. Nothing could interrupt such focused conversation, but for an interested observer it was hard for attention not to drift. No more than 200 metres beyond the far side, the multicoloured flags that fly atop Berlin’s Olympiastadion’s stands fluttered over a row of trees. At the right-hand corner stood the columns that guard its west entrance, and the perfunctory row of terracing, as Rangnick’s squad emerged to go through their paces.

Austria may have a last-16 tie on Tuesday with Turkey to grapple with, but they can see the Euro 2024 finishing line every day. They are based at the amateur stadium, used by Hertha Berlin’s under-23 team, that adjoins the arena where dreams will come true in just under a fortnight. It is a languid Sunday morning in the surrounding complex, the bustle of match day replaced by a vintage car exhibition, along with a mixture of joggers, curious tourists and perambulating families, but Austria have their eyes on glory.

Everything you need to know (and more) about every squad member in Germany. Click on the player pictures for a fuller profile and match ratings

Midfielder is as close to a footballing certainty as you can get, ensuring Luis de la Fuente’s side broke Georgia’s hearts

Nothing in football is certain, but Rodri is perhaps as close as it’s possible to get. There are times when it seems he is the teacher stepping in to a kids’ game to make sure it doesn’t become too one-sided, the grown-up who doesn’t have to bother with the things like running. He just strolls about, delivering accurate pass after accurate pass and, occasionally, scoring vital goals.

This was Rodri’s 89th game since Manchester City lost 1-0 at Tottenham in the Premier League on 5 February 2023. Since then he has lost only twice. If you take out games in which Scott McTominay was on the opposing side, he hasn’t lost at all. Quite why McTominay should be his kryptonite is unclear, but rivals should as a matter of urgency isolate whatever the active component is and start trying to manufacture it synthetically. Until Georgia’s legs went in the second half, they were excellent on Sunday but for that one vital absence: they lacked a McTominay.

Despite teetering so close to predictable failure, England are still in Euro 2024. Now they just need to play better

OK. So you’re saying there’s a chance. With 94 minutes of football already played at a clammy and frazzled AufSchalke Arena, with England 1-0 down against Slovakia and about to exit the European Championship in miserable fashion, with the entire Age of Gareth poised to sink into a toxic farewell, the range of possibilities for the next few seconds seemed fairly stark.

Forty minutes later England would leave the pitch victorious, 2-1 winners of their last-16 tie after extra time, drenched in the sweet, sweet sounds of Sweet Caroline, and ready now for a quarter-final against Switzerland on Saturday.

Spain versus Germany, then. Don’t mind if we do. The tournament’s hosts and its best team will meet in Stuttgart for a place in the semi-finals after the selección took 33 shots and scored four goals to ease past Georgia here. Only “ease” may not be quite the right word.

They were hugely impressive again en route to a victory secured by goals from Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Nico ­Williams and Dani Olmo, a lovely combination of quality, control and velocity confirming their status as favourites, but that makes it sound a little simpler than it was – if only because for the first time Spain conceded and Georgia did all they could to make a match of it.

Music festival eschews football screening out of respect for headliners, but people wheel out portable TVs

• Glastonbury festival – live coverage

As the Glastonbury festival filled up on Sunday, there was an incongruous mix of England football shirts and cowgirl get-ups among the crowds.

England’s Euro 2024 football match against Slovakia kicked off at 5pm on Sunday, immediately after Shania Twain’s Legends slot and shortly before Avril Lavigne took to the Other stage at 6pm.

• Updates from the last 16 match in Cologne (5pm BST)
• Power rankings: verdicts on the 24 group-stage teams
• Our Golden Boot interactive | Get in touch! Email Sarah

I’d love to hear from you. If you have read one of my blogs before you’ll know I love a bit of snack chat. But let’s do something a bit different. What food would your favourite player be? For example would Toni Kroos be a spaghetti bolognese, always dependable but tasty? Let me know via email or X (@rendellx).

As we are in knockout football territory there is a possibility of the match heading to penalties if it remains a draw after extra time. But how do Spain and Georgia fair in penalties? We have a guide that tells you everything you need to know:

With fans leaving the stadium and England 20 points behind in the polls, the Real Madrid star stepped in

I keep thinking about the guys who left early. You could see them sliding out of their seats, shuffling down the concourses, tutting and harrumphing all the way to the deserted tram terminus. Thinking uncharitable thoughts about Gareth Southgate, Gelsenkirchen, life in general. Looking forward to a smooth return journey and a glass of one of the Ruhr region’s frothier brews. And then, suddenly, hearing a noise over their shoulders, and realising with a deathly chill that they screwed up.

And before we all point and laugh, how many England fans – here, at home, out, wherever – were mentally taking their first step on the same journey of dissociation and detachment? How many of us, at some point during that game, spiritually checked out of the England football team as an entity? If sticking with a team is essentially an act of pure faith, yoking your time and happiness to forces beyond control or understanding, then on what basis, as the ball sails out of play for an England throw in the 94th minute, could that faith be remotely justified?

Manager’s name booed before kick-off but by the end supporters respond to his applause and show their support

These are the moments you wait for as a supporter. Yes, it was a 2-1 victory scraped together against a Slovakia team who had run out of steam half an hour earlier. Yes the 94 minutes prior were riddled with moments that went from frustrating to infuriating. But to come out and win and to win like that; suddenly – and for a short moment – anything feels possible.

The turnaround inside the Arena AufSchalke is challenging to describe. The sheer shift in scale was astronomical. There had been whistles and jeers and a sense of a bubbling up, at 1-0 down and with seconds to go. The sense that this could be Iceland on steroids, vituperation in excelsis, was building. But then, instead, a roar; a roar that was surprise as much as relief and delight.

Jude Bellingham saved England from an ignominious exit after a disjointed display against a valiant Slovakia side

Jordan Pickford (GK) Bemused by everything that unfolded in front of him. No chance with Schranz’s goal. 6

Who else? Jude Bellingham mouthed the words during the wild goal cele­brations and it was a good point well made. It simply had to be Bellingham, England’s golden boy, rescuing the team, the nation and surely Gareth Southgate, too, with an act of comic‑book brilliance just when all seemed lost.

The board had gone up to show six additional minutes at the end of the 90, England trailing to Ivan Schranz’s goal for Slovakia midway through the first half and the ­obituaries were being written. Hell, they had been written.

• Defeat in Ljubljana last March ‘will be good’ for team
• Last-16 opponents held England to 0-0 draw in Group C

Bruno Fernandes has said Portugal will be wary of Slovenia’s counterattacking threat and conceded a friendly defeat by their last-16 opponents in March has put him and his teammates “on their toes”.

Fernandes said he expected ­Slovenia to set up to frustrate in a low defensive block and his mana­ger, Roberto Martínez, stressed the importance of his team keeping their emotions in check.

• Updates from last 16 match in Gelsenkirchen (5pm BST)
• How England turned on Gareth Southgate
• Our Golden Boot interactive | Euro 2024 diary

Introducing today’s opponents. They’re good, you know, and they won’t die wondering.

I am lucky because I have a very focused team who want to play offensively. We must be defensively sound, we must care about the details, but I trust my players. Until now they have given us a lot of satisfaction in terms of performance and behaviour.

Forward is at his best coming off the flank, but this may cause an imbalance in the side as they take on Belgium

When some teams are dull and unimpressive, it is because they are dull and unimpressive. When France are dull and unimpressive, it is because they are managing the tournament. With a World Cup triumph, plus defeats in another World Cup final and a European Championship final under his belt as head coach, Didier Deschamps has earned that sympathy.

Portugal’s success at Euro 2016 and France’s at the 2018 World Cup are the examples on which Gareth Southgate has to a large degree based his philosophy. Keep it tight, reduce as much as possible the possibility of the opposition scoring and rely on the excellence of the forward players to win the margins. Deschamps clearly learned a lot under Marcelo Lippi at Juventus, but in his approach to tournaments he follows Aimé Jacquet, under whom he captained France to the World Cup in 1998.

The holders were meekly disposed of by Switzerland in the last 16 and now a root-and-branch review is required

Berlin, the city where they won a World Cup in 2006, has a special place in Italy’s footballing imagination. The prospect of returning for a last-16 tie at Euro 2024 was so thrilling it caused one commentator to trip over his tongue. Fabio Caressa, whose breathless repetition of “goal by [Fabio] Grosso!” became almost as iconic as that player’s semi-final strike 18 years ago, spluttered for a moment after Mattia Zaccagni’s equaliser against Croatia on Monday and briefly was unable to speak.

Caressa had no such trouble finding his words, on Saturday night, after the Azzurri were eliminated by a 2-0 defeat to Switzerland. “The way we played tonight was unacceptable,” said Caressa during a post-match discussion on the Italian broadcaster Sky Sport. “We have to be able to say that. This match was unwatchable … this is not the level of our national team.”

• News and analysis before England v Slovakia
• Power rankings: verdicts on the 24 group-stage teams
• Get in touch! Email Emillia | Our Golden Boot interactive

Some of our writers out in Germany have picked their preferred England starting XI for today’s match. Click below to see who has made the cut:

England winger Anthony Gordon made the headlines this week – after falling off his bike. The 23-year-old was launched head over handlebars following a mix-up with his brakes, much to the amusement of Gareth Southgate. He said: “The bike has not just slowed down, it has fully come to a stop … and I haven’t. I have gone 10 feet into the air, chin first. I carried on and finished the bike ride, and when I got back to the camp I had to put the stuff on, which absolutely stung. That was the worst bit. To be fair, nobody had seen it and I didn’t press record so there were some positives!”

The manager of the national team could be on his way out whatever happens in Euro 24, but critics should be careful what they wish for say his supporters

Gareth Southgate will stand once more on the sidelines on Sunday evening in Veltins arena in Gelsenkirchen, wearing his cream polo shirt and familiar ruminative expression, and watch his team attempt to beat Slovakia to advance to the quarter-finals of Euro 24. But whatever unfolds during the match, it seems increasingly likely that this tournament will be his last in charge of the England men’s football team.

He’s always maintained that he doesn’t want to outstay his welcome and would avoid being “in a position where my presence is affecting the team in a negative way”.

The 16-year-old star leads Spain’s new generation against the Georgia team he beat on his debut 10 months ago

The first time Lamine Yamal joined the Spain squad, they left his boots behind. His and everyone else’s too. When the selección touched down in Tbilisi to face Georgia in September 2023, the trunk carrying part of their kit was still sitting at Barajas, forcing them to complete the evening session at the Boris Paichadze stadium in trainers, unable to strike the ball. The following night, they scored seven. On his debut, the Barcelona winger got the last of them, aged 16 years and 57 days, and the national team got a new beginning.

Ten months on, Spain face Georgia again, this time for place in the quarter-final of Euro 2024. They are, Lamine Yamal says, the best side here but, he adds, “nothing we have done in the group phase will mean anything if we get knocked out”.

Yes England have played poorly, but talk of a return to the chronic unravellings of the years-of-hurt era is premature

Say what you like about England’s performances in Germany, nearly five hours of football that have felt like something to be endured grimly, sport reimagined as a kind of punishment beating. Say what you like about England’s performances in Germany, which have, at times, reproduced the physical sensation of being stabbed through the eyeballs with a kebab skewer made entirely from boredom. Say what you like, say what you like. But England haven’t been dull.

Actually, this isn’t true. England have also been dull. A man from Surrey has had to deny falling asleep during the second half against Slovenia – a huge boost, no doubt, for Gareth’s brave lions – after being pictured resting his eyes at the Cologne Stadium. One daily newspaper has launched a campaign urging people to just, you know, like the England football team a bit more, like a kindly class teacher encouraging a shy child to join in at playtime.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nedum Onuoha and Nicky Bandini as the hosts win in controversial style and the holders bow out disgracefully

On the podcast today: A storm stops the match in Dortmund but can’t stop Germany beating Denmark with goals from Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala. Denmark were hard done by with the decisions, having been denied a goal and then conceding a penalty for a very harsh handball against Joachim Anderson.

Elsewhere, Switzerland knocked out the holders, Italy, with relative ease thanks to a dismal display from Luciano Spalletti’s side. The Swiss will now face the winners of England v Slovakia in the quarter-finals.

• ‘We cannot require defenders to run with arms like this’
• Nagelsmann accuses Michael Oliver of being petty

The Denmark manager, Kasper Hjulmand, took aim at football’s “ridiculous” handball rules after they were beaten 2-0 by Germany in a controversial, storm-ravaged last-16 tie.

Denmark had been well in the game against Germany and thought they had taken the lead when Joachim Andersen converted three minutes after half-time. But the goal was disallowed by VAR for a fractional offside against Thomas Delaney and, almost immediately afterwards, Andersen was penalised for a harsh handball picked up by the video officials. They could not find a way back after Kai Havertz scored the penalty, Jamal Musiala confirming Germany’s progress.

• Captain calls on squad to ease pressure on Southgate
• England’s players are united as they prepare for Slovakia

Harry Kane has called on his teammates to raise their level and lift the pressure on Gareth Southgate, while backing Jude Bellingham to silence the critics when England face Slovakia in the last 16 on Sunday night.

It has not gone unnoticed in the dressing room that Southgate, who had plastic beer cups thrown in his direction by supporters after the goalless draw with Slovenia last Tuesday, has taken the flak for England’s underwhelming displays at Euro 2024. The manager has shielded his team from the discontent emanating from the fanbase and Kane believes the players must not shy away from the expectation on their shoulders.

The elements knocked a wild, sometimes thrilling match off kilter and then the deadening technocracy that is smothering elite football took its turn, too. At the end of it all Germany could celebrate to the strains of new wave classic Major Tom, their unofficial anthem, and perhaps dare to fantasise about a new summer fairytale. Much of the night had resembled a fever dream but the prospect of going all the way in their home tournament has become real for Julian Nagelsmann’s team.

They will need to be better than this if, as seems likely, they face Spain in the quarter-finals. Germany looked like blowing Denmark away early on but, having not done so, had become a skittish mush by the time a cataclysmic weather intervention stopped proceedings for nearly half an hour during the opening period. They eventually pulled clear but had, in large part, to thank a handball law that is offensive to the sport’s spirit. Once Kai Havertz had scored from the penalty spot the air was sucked out of a pleasantly bold Denmark side.

• Spike in racist and homophobic posts after games
• UK police taking action over ‘grossly offensive posts’

The UK Football Policing Unit has received nearly 600 referrals of online abuse towards England players since the start of Euro 2024. The figures, revealed by Channel 4 News, showed spikes in abusive posts after England’s group games, with the majority of posts containing racist content or language. The UKFPU has said 26 cases are under investigation.

“It’s roughly around 85% of most of the grossly offensive posts that we see are racism, followed by homophobia,” said superintendent Mike Ankers, the UKFPU investigations lead. “We still get vile use of the N-word. They will be quite prominent. We’ll also get things like monkey emoji, that in itself will be grossly offensive. So we would be taking action.

• Francesco Calzona will not change attacking approach
• England could be ‘unbeatable’ if they click, he warns

Slovakia’s coach, Francesco Calzona, has set out the contest between his side and England as one between “a squad worth €1.5bn and one worth 10 times less” but says he trusts his players to deliver in Gelsenkirchen.

The Italian insists he will not drop his attacking approach to the tournament but warned his players must be defensively sound against opponents he believes will be “unbeatable” if they click.

• Updates from the last 16 match in Dortmund (8pm BST)
• Power rankings: verdicts on the 24 group-stage teams
• Get in touch! Email Scott | Our Golden Boot interactive

1 min: A very early run for Sane down the right. He digs out a cross but can’t find anyone in white. “I don’t see how Denmark can fail to progress from this match,” announces Jacob Hammer. “No team enjoys the role as underdogs more than we do and now we might play Germany, Spain, and France on our way to the final. Clearly this is how Kasper Hjulmand planned it. My only worry is that we might face Slovakia in the final (sorry England), be favourites, and get thrashed.”

Germany get the ball rolling. It’s hot and humid in Dortmund, and there’s a hurricane warning for later. Hopefully this will be done and dusted before the wind picks up. “I’m in Frankfurt, where I was hoping to see Scotland play on Monday night,” begins Simon McMahon. “That ain’t happening, so I’m supporting Germany tonight, though the fan zone here is closed due to bad weather, so it’s almost like home. A local hostelry then, maybe a beer or two, some mince and tatties. Come on Scotland Germany!”

The incoherence and panic that gripped lethargic players against Denmark shows their problems are deep-rooted

Italy won the World Cup in 1982 and Portugal the Euros in 2016 after drawing all three games in the initial group. Spain in 2010 and Argentina in 2022 both began their World Cup-winning campaigns with defeat. This year, Ivory Coast lost group games 1-0 to Nigeria and 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea, qualified for the last 16 only because Ghana conceded twice in injury time against Mozambique and still went on to win the Africa Cup of Nations.

Only Brazil, in 2002, have won seven games out of seven at a major tournament. It is possible for a team that has begun poorly to win it. But just because something is possible, doesn’t mean that’s how you should do things. Tournaments are short; average teams sometimes can be mysteriously energised. England haven’t ticked a box by getting in a couple of bad performances when it didn’t really matter. Planning tends to win out over shrugging and hoping for the best.

In hindsight – and really, only in hindsight – this was how it was always going to end. We still believed, and they still believed, because this was Italy, and for all their foibles and frailties, that name and that crown still count for something. But scarcely can a crown have weighed more heavily. The defending champions are out, and most crushingly they barely threw a punch in the process.

By the end, perhaps the most damning indictment of Luciano Spalletti’s team was that it didn’t even feel like a shock. Switzerland were not just better but braver, not just quicker but slicker, squeezing Italy’s weak spots with a sadistic relish, Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas with the goals either side of half-time. Italy were overwhelmed for the first hour of this game, and by the last half-hour, when they were finally able to string a few passes together, who cared?

Once again, Thuram, Chiesa and Hagi are shining on the big stage – and making everyone feel ancient in the process

Schmeichel, Thuram, Blind, Chiesa, Hagi and Conceição head into the last 16. This is not nostalgia, an old goals tape discovered among the videos in the junk room; this is now. As the knockout round of Euro 2024 gets under way, Kasper, Marcus, Daley, Federico, Ianis and Francisco, sons of Peter, Lilian, Danny, Enrico, Gheorghe and Sergio, go in search of the chance to make their countries proud and their parents prouder. And to make everyone else feel very, very old, in the name of the father.

This is not the first time there have been footballers’ sons at the Euros – a goal from Federico Chiesa at Euro 2020, 25 years and 12 days after his dad, Enrico, scored at Anfield during Euro 96, made the Chiesas the first family to have two goalscoring generations in the competition – and some of these kids are not so young any more, a third generation on the way. Some are better than their dads were; some never will be. Daley Blind has 107 caps, 65 more than his father, Danny; “something we can both be proud of,” he says. Kasper Schmeichel is 37 and on 104 caps, closing in on his dad.

• Updates from the last 16 match in Berlin (5pm BST)
• Power rankings: verdicts on the 24 group-stage teams
• Get in touch! Email Barry | Our Golden Boot interactive

Italy: While many Italians were relieved to squeeze past Croatia, their national team manager Luciano Spalletti still feels he has more to prove at Euro 2024. Nicky Bandini reports …

Our reporter admires the stars of yesteryear at the Deutsche Fussball Museum before the Euro 2024 knockout stage

Willy Sagnol’s daring team – 74th in the world – have become the neutrals’ choice with hopes of making more history

On the outskirts of Velbert, a plain town south of the Ruhr renowned for manufacturing locks and hinges, something remarkable is stirring. Georgia are preparing for the biggest game in their country’s history, getting acquainted with their newfound fame as everyone’s favourite underdog.

The IMS Arena, home to the local fifth-tier side, is off Industriestrasse, an iron foundry and recycling centre in view from the main stand as Willy Sagnol runs through a passing drill. “Short and intense,” he stresses, and those who have admired Georgia attack their first major tournament know the latter is them down to a T.

• News and analysis before first knockout games in last 16
• Power rankings: verdicts on the 24 group-stage teams
• Get in touch! Email Sarah | Our Golden Boot interactive

England defender Kieran Trippier is an injury doubt for their last 16 match against Slovakia on Sunday, according to Sky Sports.

He has a calf issue that he has been carrying through the end of the season. Trippier started all three of England’s group matches.

Gareth Southgate has some big decisions to make for the last-16 tie; here is who our writers in Germany would select

After three sluggish group-stage performances, England urgently need to find their groove against Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen. Should Gareth Southgate reshuffle his attack, and is it time to risk Luke Shaw at left-back? Our writers pick their starting XIs below …

I would persist with Jude Bellingham in the No 10 role, which flies in the face of his performances against Denmark and Slovenia. But I just feel that as the team look/ pray for a click, Bellingham has the potential to drive it. After all of the criticism, he will be fiercely motivated; the key will be for him to master his emotions. Phil Foden has had quite the week off the field; far from ideal in terms of his preparations. He can affect the game off the bench. Kobbie Mainoo provides security on the ball, the ability to get the team up the pitch and it is time for Anthony Gordon on the left – for his threat in behind and for balance because Trippier will not overlap from left-back. Everybody is waiting for Luke Shaw but it would be too risky to start him after so long out and also because there are hopefully more games to come. Cole Palmer’s X-factor on the right stands to make a difference. David Hytner

Is anyone’s record worse than England’s? Can any team better Germany’s habit of success? We look at the numbers

The last European Championship that did not feature penalty shootout heartbreak/ecstasy was 1988, which had eight teams and only three knockout games. So it’s almost certain that at least one country will exit Euro 2024 on pens in the coming weeks. But of the sides in the last 16, which have the most reason for fear – or confidence – based on their past shootout record? And is there really a nation with a worse record than England? Answer: yes. Sort of.

Serie A success the springboard for star after rocky start with fans and that could spell trouble for England

Slovakia’s progress to the last 16 of Euro 2024, where a meeting with England in Gelsenkirchen awaits, has been a team effort, but the displays of one man in particular have especially stood out. Stanislav Lobotka has been central to Slovakia’s success in Germany, literally as well as figuratively, delivering man-of-the-match displays in the 1-0 win over Belgium and the decisive 1-1 draw with Romania. It is little surprise that the 29-year-old defensive midfielder is being linked with a big move away from Napoli this summer, but what is perhaps a shock is that his relationship with Slovak supporters has not always been easy going.

Lobotka has always been well-known in Slovakia for his hard work and humble attitude but, before the previous European Championship, some of the national team’s supporters did not want him involved. He was not in good form and was reportedly overweight when coming back from injury. It was not the best of times for Lobotka or Slovakia, who were eliminated from Euro 2020 after a 5-0 loss against Spain.

‘The euphoria has been a little delayed,’ but supporters hope to make use of home advantage before Denmark showdown

It was against her better judgment that Bea Riemer agreed to join her friends in the fan zone near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin this week. “I have been gradually getting into the tournament,” the 25-year-old business student said, but until then she had been concentrating solely on Germany’s games at the Euros, “watching at home, in the gym and in a restaurant, my attention easily diverted; cautiously optimistic, a bit nervous of joining a bigger crowd.”

Witnessing Georgia’s magnificent 2-0 win over Portugal on the big screen, though, surrounded by fans of both those teams and others, has changed her whole attitude, she said. “This is one massive, fabulous party, and I don’t need to be in the stadium but I do need to be among other people, participating in the rollicking fun.”

Winger is strong believer in mental preparation and will not let bike accident affect him if picked against Slovakia

There is, frankly, only one place to start with Anthony Gordon and it is not only because he is handed a pair of stabilisers as a present when he walks in to address the media – a reference to his much talked-about and laughed-about bike crash on Wednesday during England’s recovery day.

It is hard to ignore the cuts and grazes, especially the deep red one in the middle of his chin. There are some on the Newcastle winger’s nose and arms, while they are also all over his hands. When somebody goes to shake with him, he pulls away defensively, which does not suggest he is battle-ready for Sunday’s last-16 tie against Slovakia. It turns out to be wrong. He says he is completely fine. So what happened?

After a fine debut season with Chelsea the winger is unfazed by his late miss on his tournament debut against Slovenia

By the time our 20 minutes with Cole Palmer are up, the England winger has managed to rave about Riyad Mahrez’s first touch, reveal that Austria have been one of his favourite teams at Euro 2024, claim Londoners are way moodier than northerners, talk about getting on for 20 minutes against Slovenia, praise Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Chelsea, elaborate on his relationship with Enzo Maresca and, most importantly of all, correct erroneous reports that he has an obsession with baked beans.

The answers are short, sweet and often pretty illuminating. Palmer does not skip a beat before revealing that his first position was left-back. It was a throwaway comment, but he suddenly looks horrified. He glances at the press officer sitting to his left and wonders if he has put his foot in it. Is Gareth Southgate about to stumble upon the answer to England’s problem position? “I am talking under-10s!” Palmer says. “Under-10s! I have never played left-back since. I was tiny and I just got put left-back. When I was 12 I moved further and further up.”

Francesco Calzona’s close-knit team have built a formidable rhythm with input from their former star Marek Hamsik

While England scramble around for cohesion, their next opponents have established a throbbing rhythm. Milan Skriniar prepared to offer his perspective on Sunday’s meeting but had to wait while the Slovakia kitman, Marek Kosan, took the floor. The camp had made a deal: if they progressed from the group stage he would have to publicly demonstrate his beatboxing skills. Kosan had no hiding place so played the captain in, accepting both enthusiastic applause and the unexpected consequences of success.

Slovakia hope a similarly pulsating display will break new ground on Sunday. They have never reached a quarter-final but feel rested and well prepared in historic Mainz, away from the crowds but only half an hour from the Frankfurt stadium where two of their previous games took place. The Gutenberg press and gegenpress were both born here: the latter comes to mind when Slovakia arrive to train at Bruchwegstadion, the atmospheric old ground where Jürgen Klopp made his name at Mainz.

While many Italians were relieved to squeeze past Croatia, the manager still feels he has more to prove at Euro 2024

To watch Luciano Spalletti speak at the end of Italy’s draw against Croatia felt like being pitched into an alternate timeline. Outside, on the pitch at Leipzig Stadium, there had been joy and relief for the Azzurri after Mattia Zaccagni’s 98th-minute equaliser secured progress to Euro 2024’s knockout phase. Inside, at the press conference, there was the sort of prickly postmortem you might expect after early elimination.

In a series of monologues, Spalletti railed against perceived critics. When one journalist, Dario Ricci, asked whether the decision to change formation to a 3-5-2 had been influenced by a “pact” with players, the manager accused him of sharing leaked information from the changing room.

Everyone is annoyed after three games of football. No one is having a good time. And it is objectively hilarious

When was the moment you thought it was going to be one of those England games? 13min 29sec for me, Clive. John Stones overhits a relatively straightforward crossfield pass to Kieran Trippier. The makeshift left‑back (he’s right-footed in case you hadn’t been made aware) performs the classic “right idea” applause over his head as the ball sails out for a throw-in to Slovenia.

Thirteen and a half minutes is a little impatient. But this quickly became one of those games where you start wondering if you floss enough, or if your pension is invested ethically. This was 13 and a half minutes on top of the 90 against Denmark and at least 45 against Serbia. Game after game of footballing atrophy. Elite players degenerating in front of your eyes.

• Foden back training after returning home for child’s birth
• Gallagher set to drop out for last-16 tie against Slovakia

Gareth Southgate is giving strong consideration to sticking with his first-choice attack after Phil Foden returned to training on Friday and took part in England’s preparations for their last-16 tie against Slovakia.

Southgate, who has come under heavy criticism for his tactics at Euro 2024, is not expected to do anything drastic against Slovakia on Sunday and is veering towards making only one change, with ­Kobbie Mainoo set to replace Conor ­Gallagher in midfield.

Lacklustre Euro 2024 performances may prompt faddish quick fixes but the real key to success may lie in replacing fear with the fun players felt as 10-year-olds

Sporting success isn’t down to pickle juice, according to a leading sports psychologist. The secret isn’t to be found in the inflatable unicorns England’s players famously mounted to recuperate in the pool. Or the £3,400 electric bikes they pedalled to boost their post-match recovery. It’s not even about the manager.

“Instead, what I’m going to say will horrify you,” said Michael Caulfield, who has worked in professional sport for more than 25 years. “Football is – or should be – only about joy.”

Take your mind away from the consequences of your action and focus on the action. Anxiety, fear, stress are projections of the future: concentrate on the present.

Learn how to change your perceived reality. Premier League footballers learn to shut out fans if they feel oppressed by them. This could help people who don’t like public speaking, for example, who can see their audience as more intimidating than they may actually be.

Find a ritual to recover from disappointment that creates positivity.

Learn from those you admire. Stay close to them and be forgiving of their mistakes and failures.

Don’t have top tips, said Caulfield, because by tomorrow someone else will have come up with five other tips and “you’ll be completely confused”. “A good grandparent is better than any tip,” he said. “Turn to grey hair because the chances are they’ve been through a bit. They’re not right or wrong but they’ll ask the right questions and help you sort things out.”

Readers respond to Barney Ronay’s account of touring Germany for Euro 2024 football games

Barney Ronay’s article resonated very strongly with me (‘On a journey through Germany, the horror of the past lurks close to the surface’, Sport, 22 June). He spoke with clarity on how past horror echoed in his encounters with places and spaces in everyday Germany, from mundane buildings to the seemingly innocent woodland clearing. I too am from a “Jewish enough” family displaced from Nazi Germany. Our family has those seemingly improbable stories of survival, and I sometimes wonder if I should have existed at all.

That Gestapo knock on the door has cast a long shadow and, throughout my “improbable” life, has caused me to ask how this terror arose. I wonder what its harbingers are, so we might not make such terror again. But right now we are witness to it. We can all see it raising its grotesquely mundane yet human head, with larger-than–life characters encouraging us to devalue and demean those who are different.

Hosts ponder whether to start Füllkrug up front with potential for a stormy night against unfancied Denmark

First, the insects. There has been an infestation of mosquitoes at Germany’s training camp in Herzogenaurach in Bavaria, one that has claimed numerous victims, with a fortnight of humid weather rendering the squad’s outdoor viewing garden – which sits right next to a forest – almost unusable in the evenings. “I have already been bitten two or three times,” the striker Maximilian Beier admitted. “But if that’s the biggest problem, then fine …”

Then, the thunder. The DWD, Germany’s equivalent of the Met Office, is warning of severe thunderstorms, torrential rain, large hailstones, hurricane-force winds and perhaps even tornadoes across the west of the country on Saturday: perfectly timed to coincide with the crunch last-16 clash against Denmark in Dortmund.

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Just taking over from Daniel for a short while. We await news from the England camp. In the meantime, isn’t this stuff getting a bit silly?

What were you doing at 16?

Former France international has dedicated himself to his adopted country and now faces last-16 clash with Spain

It was known long before the press conference Willy Sagnol gave before Georgia’s game against Portugal that the French manager did not suffer fools gladly. What was not so well known was his remarkable command of colloquial English. “Twats,” he said of those who had criticised his team selection back home (more about which later). Then he said it again, with impeccable timing, before apologising – after a fashion – for the “tone” of his answer. The smile that accompanied the apology left no doubt.

Perhaps it was to be expected from a man who had to survive – and flourished – in the environment of Bayern Munich at the height of their “FC Hollywood” era, when he was an automatic starter at right-back for the team that won the Champions League, five Bundesliga titles and four German Cups between 2001 and 2008. “I played nine years for a club where punches were regularly thrown in the dressing room,” he once said. “That didn’t prevent us from winning a lot of things.”