Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona was philosophical after their heartbreaking Euro 2024 last-16 exit at the hands of England in Gelsenkirchen.
Ivan Schranz put Slovakia ahead with his third goal of the tournament after 25 minutes and they had several chances to increase their tally which they were unable to take.
It left the game in the balance until the fifth minute of six added at the end of 90 minutes, during which Jude Bellingham executed a perfect overhead kick from a Kyle Walker long throw to claw England level and send the game to extra-time.
Harry Kane nodded the Euro 2020 runners-up ahead just 53 seconds into extra time and despite piling on the pressure, Slovakia could not fashion an equaliser.
“I want to say again how proud of my team I am,” Calzona told uefa.com. “I told them they did a great job, they were fantastic.
“We were on a par with our opponents, we played attacking football and we had chances to score.
“They’re clearly all very disappointed because we were so close to making it, but this is football.
“We conceded a goal when there were only a few seconds left, through a player who plays (for Real Madrid). It’s a matter of a few centimetres and you’re punished. Maybe we could have defended it better, but that’s what happens.”
Having toppled Belgium 1-0 in their Group E campaign, eventually finishing third on goals scored, Calzona almost added another scalp with the side ranked 45th in the world.
“I feel proud, we played a great game against a world-class team and one of the favourites. We allowed England very little, we almost advanced,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t make it. In extra time, we spent half the time in our opponents’ half.”
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Schranz, whose third goal of the tournament sees him joint-top in the race for the Golden Boot, said the outcome will haunt the Slovakian squad for years.
“It’s my third goal of the tournament, but so what? It could have been beautiful, great, but we lost out at the last moment.
“We have nothing to be angry about, we’ll deal with it. But maybe we’ll regret it for the rest of our lives. We may not get another chance like this to write history.”
Skipper Milan Skriniar admitted: “It’s hard to find the words; we are all very sad. We were so close. England have quality, they pushed us and then all of a sudden came the Bellingham goal.
“It hurts that we conceded in the very last minute. We were maybe 30 seconds from victory. But I’m really proud of the whole team. It was an amazing ride. We were ready to rewrite Slovakia history but, unfortunately, it went another way. I hope we will be back stronger.”
Teammate David Hancko admitted: “I haven’t been so sad about football in a long time.
“I know it’s just a game, but we were very close to something special; something we dreamed of.
“We did everything we could to make it happen, but in the end it turned on its head. Bellingham’s equaliser was a dagger to the heart.”
