Slovakia’s manager Francesco Calzona accused England of time-wasting and ‘being scared’ during the Three Lions’ dramatic 2-1 victory at Euro 2024. Slovakia had taken the lead thanks to an Ivan Schranz goal in the opening half an hour and were in control throughout large parts of the game.
However, a 95th-minute bicycle kick from Jude Bellingham and a winner inside the first minute of extra-time by Harry Kane saw Gareth Southgate’s side complete a remarkable turnaround. In the aftermath, Calzona did not hold back with his criticism of Slovakia’s opponents, slamming the officials and stating that his side deserved to make it to the next round.
Calzona Slams England
Italian accuses Three Lions of time-wasting
Calzona was left frustrated at full-time by what he perceived to be a poor performance by the officials. Calzona stated that he felt not enough time was added on as he accused England of time-wasting.
“The lads worked so hard and followed what I asked of them to the letter” Calzona said. “We allowed them a bit more in the second half, but that was to be expected against a team of this level. In extra time, it was one-way traffic, we pinned them back and they relied on time-wasting and obstructionism. I was angry because one extra minute of stoppages with the amount of time-wasting especially from their goalkeeper was not enough.
“I did not like the performance of the referees at all, but we certainly didn’t lose because of that. We lost because of a couple of distractions, but clearly I am very proud of my team as we played positive football, put in a great performance and I think the people of Slovakia will be proud of that.”
The Slovakia manager could be seen storming over to referee Halil Umut Meler after proceedings, which led to a confrontation with England midfielder Declan Rice. The two had to be separated as one of Calzona’s backroom staff put their hands around Rice’s neck.
Calzona Proud of Slovakia’s Efforts
Manager believes his side deserved to go through
Regardless of the result and the impact of the officials, Calzona remained strong in his assertions that his team deserved to progress to the last eight of the competition. The interim Napoli manager stated that the Three Lions were scared of his side, claiming: “We knew that we could not leave space between the lines, we all know what Bellingham can do and had to keep it tight. We had the chances in the first half to kill off the game and it would’ve changed everything.
“It is a source of pride to force a team like England to focus only on defending in extra time. That means they were scared of us and in my view we deserved to go through.”