England will want to seal top spot in the Euro 2016 Group B with a win over Slovakia in Saint-Etienne on Monday. With four points form their first two games, England are virtually guaranteed of a place in the last 16, but they will want to make sure it is with a top place courtesy a positive performance.
Get the highlights of the match HERE
Going into the second half of their second group game, against Wales, it looked like England's knockout hopes would hang completely on this final match against Slovakia. But, Roy Hodgson's inspired substitutions made all the difference, as Jamie Vardy struck the equaliser with a typical poacher's goal in the 56th minute, before Daniel Sturridge netted a peach in the second minute of stoppage time.
The difference between a defeat and a victory is such that all England need from this Slovakia game now is a draw to guarantee qualification. A win will make them Group B winners, while even a loss might be enough to take them through the round of 16. Hodgson, though, knowing that qualification is just around the corner and much more difficult challenges lie ahead, is expected to make quite a few changes to his team, including resting Wayne Rooney, and changing the forward lineup, even if he understands the threat posed by Slovakia.
"There are lots in the Slovakia team who we have to watch out for," Hodgson told UEFA's official website. The front line, with [Marek] Hamsik, [Ondrej] Duda and [Vladimir] Weiss are good attacking players. All we can do is hope our performance on the night is good enough to beat them."
If there is one man capable of beating England on his own, it is Hamsik. The playmaker scored a wonderful winner against Russia in the last match, a match which must have given Slovakia the confidence that they can go a fair way in this competition. If Hamsik comes to the party again, and with the likes of Weiss looking solid as well, England could have a long day on Monday.
Slovakia manager Jan Kozak understands his team tactics need to change to beat this strong England unit. "To be honest, we do not have a strong enough team to play an open game against a team like England," Kozak said. "We have to focus on our style if we want to be successful.
"We have tried to prepare as well as we possibly can and we're looking forward to it. As for England's attack, we might say one thing, then something entirely different could happen on the day. We need to show respect to our opponent, but we also carry a threat ourselves."
That threat needs to come from Hamsik, otherwise this will be a game that goes England's way.
Where to Watch Live
England vs Slovakia is scheduled for a 9 p.m. local time (12.30 a.m. IST, 8 p.m. BST, 3 p.m. ET) start. All the live streaming and TV information is below.
India: TV: Sony Six/HD. Live Streaming: ESPN.in and Sonyliv.
UK: TV: ITV1. Live Streaming: ITV Hub.
France: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
USA: TV: ESPN and ESPN 3. Live Streaming: Watch ESPN.
Canada: TV: TSN and RDS. Live Streaming: TSN TV.
Australia: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
New Zealand: TV: Sky Sport. Live Streaming: Sky Go NZ.
Singapore: TV: Eleven Singapore and Singtel. Live Streaming: Singtel Go.
Middle East and North Africa: TV: Bein Sports Max. Live Streaming: Bein SportsConnect.
South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: TV: SuperSport 3. Live Streaming: SuperSport
Germany: TV: ZDF and ORF.
China and Hong Kong: TV: CCTV and LeTV.
Thailand: TV: Channel 3.
Malaysia: TV: Astro.
Latin America: TV: DirecTV.
