Marc Guehi: I love playing for England | OneFootball

Marc Guehi has emerged as one of the best England players from their successful group stage campaign of Euro 2024 as they prepare to face Slovakia in their last 16 tie unbeaten.

That will come as no surprise to Crystal Palace supporters for they have been raving about Guehi since his £18million move from Chelsea in 2021.

The unexpected nature of his ‘success’ so far in Germany is because England’s defence was supposed to be the weakest element of Gareth Southgate’s squad.

Guehi, 23, has been almost flawless alongside John Stones at the heart of a defence flanked by Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier with Jordan Pickford ever reliable between the sticks.

Marc Guehi: stand out defensive star for England

They topped their group conceding only one goal – a long-range effort from Denmark’s Morten Hjulmund – that had more to do with a brilliant strike from distance and Harry Kane needlessly giving the ball away when he was neglecting his attacking duties to play as a deep midfielder. In short, they have not allowed any side a single clear cut chance on goal – better than even Spain, who are yet to concede.

Guehi acknowledges the criticism aimed at England’s inability to impress going forward but believes the solid nature of Southgate’s side is down to the environment created by the manager and senior players.

He explained: “It is not just the defence, but the whole team. We rely on each other, but they just want me to be myself, to carry on doing what I’m doing. We just support one another.

“You look around the camp and can see every single day the togetherness. That comes from years of building things and the extras like playing darts, or playing paddle, or whatever activity helps too. It shows on the pitch, when you are going through tough moments on a pitch.

“That is down to the manager and credit to the senior players that have been there for so long. Together, they allow players like me, who haven’t had that experience at this level, to come in and just feel like themselves.”

Next up for England is Slovakia. A win and they can theoretically progress to the final without facing any of the big guns such as Germany, France, Spain, or Portugal.

Guehi concluded: “I think Slovakia is just going to be another tough, tough opponent. We just must be ready for those challenges and match wherever intensity they’re gonna bring. “What builds confidence is togetherness in performances and the fact that we haven’t lost a game yet, which is an important thing. All the other things you can’t really control. I think it’s important that we just control what we can control and that’s remaining calm, focused, and dealing with whatever obstacles are in front of us.”