The Italian knows his side will be underdogs in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, but he has been written off his whole career and will relish a shot at causing a major upset.
Calzona was a coffee sales rep for a family-run business when he began coaching amateur teams more than 20 years ago. He has steadily carved himself a coaching career which now puts him on collision course with England after Slovakia secured a spot in the knockout stage by finishing third in Group E, courtesy of a 1-1 draw with Romania yesterday.
A long-time assistant of former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri at Napoli, Calzona has got Slovakia this far in style in what is his first job as a manager.
He promised before the tournament to play "beautiful football" and stunned Belgium by beating them 1-0 in their opening game before going on finish the group stage with four points.
"This team has quality," said Slovakian journalist Lukas Vrablik. "I have been watching Slovakia since
2004 and this is probably the strongest team we have had since then, even if we don't have Marek Hamsik anymore.
"The players will feel that England are there for the taking and they can.
Denne historien er fra June 27, 2024-utgaven av Evening Standard.
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Denne historien er fra June 27, 2024-utgaven av Evening Standard.
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