Slovakia face England in World Cup qualifying on Sunday, Sept. 4. Here’s all the info you need to watch.
England’s Sam Allardyce era gets underway Sunday as the former Bolton manager takes charge of his first game with the Three Lions. The word is, however, little will change. England’s expected starting XI contains eight players who started in Roy Hodgson’s last game in charge, the Euro 2016 round of 16 loss to Iceland. John Stones, Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana come into the side, which will once again be captained by Wayne Rooney. Joe Hart maintains his spot in goal, despite getting dropped by new Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and subsequently loaned out to Torino.
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Slovakia also exited Euro 2016 at the round of 16, though to much more established opposition in Germany. They drew with England in the final group game of that tournament and will be confident of taking all three points at home. Marek Hamsik is the star player, but Miroslav Stoch and Vladimir Weiss can be very dangerous on the counter as well. Having lost only once in 14 home internationals, Slovakia will be confident against a rebuilding English team.
The World Cup qualifier between Slovakia and England will be available online only on ESPN3. Live streaming is available at WatchESPN, which you can access with your cable or satellite subscriptions, either online or through the WatchESPN app.
Date: Sunday, Sept. 4
Start time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Trnava, Slovakia
Stadium: Stadion Antona Malatinskeho
TV Info: ESPN3
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Most of the attention will presumably be on Allardyce ahead of this one, but while England’s players will be hoping to impress their new manager, it’s unlikely we’ll see any drastic tactical overhaul just yet (or ever). Given the similarities between Allardyce’s first squad and Hodgson’s last, we might not see any differences at all. Slovakia have a real chance in this one.