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Slovakia boss 'surprised' by England line-up at Wembley

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 02:  Wayne Rooney (L) and Jamie Vardy (R) of England speak during the international friendly match between England and Portugal at W
Image: England endured a somewhat frustrating night at Wembley on Thursday

Slovakia coach Jan Kozak says he was surprised by the team England fielded against Portugal in Thursday night's Wembley friendly.

And Kozak is adamant England will use a different line-up or formation when they face his side at Euro 2016.

England finished their warm-up matches with an unimpressive 1-0 win over a 10-man Portugal team, in which Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy all lined up in attack.

The tactic was not a great success and Kozak thinks it was an experiment that will not be repeated when Slovakia face Roy Hodgson's side in their last Group B match in St Etienne on June 20.

England's Chris Smalling (left) celebrates scoring his side's winning goal
Image: Chris Smalling scored a late winner against Portugal

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Speaking ahead of his team's warm-up game against Northern Ireland on Saturday, Kozak said: "I myself watched the (England) match yesterday.

"I was also surprised for the line-up. Due to the exclusion of the Portuguese player (Bruno Alves was dismissed 10 minutes before half-time), the match was quite uniform.

"But in the end the English team scored, were patient, and it was okay. I'm convinced that the English are not going to use this line-up in the first match. They have got their usual way of playing and this has just been a test."

Kozak thinks his experienced Slovakia side will provide a real test for the more youthful England line-up.

"There are quite a number of young English players in the team, so let's see how they cope with the pressure of the public, the pressure of expectations, the pressure of the media," he said.

"There are experienced players in the team. However, most of them are quite young."

Juraj Kucka and his Slovakia team-mates celebate against Germany
Image: Slovakia could prove tough opponents for England at Euro 2016

And Slovakia are heading into the tournament in fine fettle, having beaten World Cup winners Germany last week and defeated Spain two years ago in qualifying.

"We have made a certain signal," said Kozak.

"The victory in Germany is that signal going to the world, to give a message. Our team is of high quality. The team which has defeated Spain must have a certain strength."

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