The Three Lions legend has spoken ahead of the Euro 2024 last-16 clash

England take on Slovakia with a place in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals up for grabs – but Wayne Rooney has warned a key Three Lions star not to let their frustrations boil over in the encounter.

The knockout phase of the competition in Germany is beginning now after the group stages have been completed.

England ended Group C in top spot with a win and two draws to qualify for the last-16 phase as winners, and have set up a clash against Slovakia, who finished third in Group E.

Gareth Southgate’s side have been far from convincing so far in the tournament, drawing criticism from supporters and pundits about the tactics, players used and style of play.

0 seconds of 13 secondsVolume 90%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ?

Play/PauseSPACE
Increase Volume↑
Decrease Volume↓
Seek Forward→
Seek Backward←
Captions On/Offc
Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf
Mute/Unmutem
Decrease Caption Size–
Increase Caption Size+ or =
Seek %0-9

Thanks to finishing top of the group, Southgate’s side have secured a spot in the more favourable half of the draw to the final, avoiding the likes of Germany, Spain, Portugal and France.

The Three Lions take on Slovakia on Sunday evening, and will face the victors of Saturday’s clash between Switzerland and Italy, the latter being the side which beat England three years ago on penalties in the Euro 2020 final.

The winners of the subsequent quarter-final will take on either Austria, the Netherlands, Romania or Turkey in the semi-final to win the right to be in Berlin in the middle of next month.

Getty)

Only two players have scored for England so far this tournament, with Harry Kane opening the scoring in the 1-1 draw against Denmark, and Jude Bellingham netting what proved to be the winner against Serbia.

And ahead of the last-16 encounter, Rooney has issued a warning to Real Madrid star Bellingham to keep his cool after showing several moments of frustration in the goalless draw versus Slovenia.

Advert

Former England top scorer Rooney has urged Bellingham to not allow any frustration to boil over and not allow any desire to do well to slip into ‘something stupid’.

Writing in his column for The Times, Rooney said: “Three or four times in the first half [against Slovenia] he could not hide his frustration. He was turning round to look at others and throwing his arms up. Body language like that sends a message to the fans, to his team-mates, to the manager.

“I’ve been there. I know exactly the position he’s in. I found myself in that headspace many times in international football, and at certain points in my club career. I just hope the frustration doesn’t boil over to the point where he gets a red card or does something stupid and gets himself injured. Against Slovenia, it looked as if he was getting close.

“Throughout this tournament it has looked as if he has been trying too hard, and when you try too hard, you make decisions you don’t normally make.

Advert

“He reminds me of myself in tournaments where you want so desperately to do well and know you and the team could be playing better, and it gets to you. But don’t do something stupid, Jude.”