GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) — England plays Slovakia in the round of 16 at Euro 2024 on Sunday after facing fierce criticism for its performances during the group stage. Still, the runner up three years ago is unbeaten and on the opposite side of the draw to France, Spain, Germany and Portugal. Kickoff is at 9 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) in Gelsenkirchen. Here’s what to know about the match:
— England advanced to the knockout phase as group winner and unbeaten in three games, but fans showed their anger at the team's performance against Slovenia on Tuesday with loud jeers at the end of the match and some threw beer cups toward manager Gareth Southgate.
— This is Southgate's fourth major tournament as England manager and he has always managed to lead the team to at least the quarterfinals.
— Slovakia is playing in the round of 16 at a Euros for second time as an independent nation, having advanced to this stage in 2016. It has never gone beyond the round of 16.
— Under coach Francesco Calzona, Slovakia produced one of the shocks of the tournament by beating Belgium 1-0 in its opening game.
— Phil Foden is back in the England squad after returning home for the birth of his child. Luke Shaw could make his first appearance at these Euros following a hamstring injury and Southgate is reportedly considering starting teenager Kobbie Mainoo in midfield.
— Harry Kane scored a record-extending 64th goal for England in the game against Denmark.
— England is unbeaten in six games against Slovakia, winning five and drawing one.
— If they play, Juraj Kucka and Peter Pekarík will make record-extending 11th appearances for Slovakia at the Euros.
— “Everything that’s happened is now pretty irrelevant. We have things that we can build on, but also, this is a different test, a different phase of the tournament, and each individual game takes place on its own merit and can also take wild directions at times.” — England manager Gareth Southgate.
— “We remember where we started. When our coach first took the job, we were playing friendly matches in front of 2,000 people in the stadium. And now, after two years of hard work, we’re among the best 16 teams in Europe. So, it’s really wonderful, and we’re happy about it.” — Slovakia captain Milan Skriniar.
James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024
England's Harry Kane, center, smiles during a training session in Blankenhain, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024 ahead of the round of 16 soccer match against Slovakia at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Slovakia's Ondrej Duda, left, celebrates scoring the opening goal against Romania during a Group E match at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)
England's Kobbie Mainoo practises during a training session in Blankenhain, Germany, Friday, June 21, 2024 ahead of their Group C soccer match against Denmark at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
England's Kobbie Mainoo speaks during a press conference in Blankenhain, Germany, Tuesday, June 18, 2024 ahead of the national team's Group C soccer match against Denmark at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
WEST BATH, Maine (AP) — A man who confessed to killing both his parents and two of their friends before shooting at motorists on a highway plans to enter pleas Monday that will resolve his criminal case, his lawyer said.
Joseph Eaton withdrew his insanity defense late last year and his defense attorney told The Associated Press that they anticipate “resolving” the indictments for four counts of murder and other charges during a change-of-plea hearing.
Prosecutors declined comment on any plea agreement ahead of the court hearing.
Law enforcement officials say Eaton confessed to the killings on a property in rural Bowdoin, and to wounding three more people while shooting at vehicles on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth. The shootings came days after Eaton was released from prison for unrelated crimes. Eaton has been jailed again since his arrest in April 2023 near the tumultuous scene along the highway, where traffic came to a halt as heavily armed police searched for the gunman.
Those killed were Eaton’s parents, Cynthia Eaton, 62, and David Eaton, 66, along with longtime friends Robert Eger, 72, and Patti Eger, 62, the couple who owned the Bowdoin home where they all were staying. Also killed was the family dog, resulting in an animal cruelty charge.
Soon after the bodies were discovered on April 18, 2023, three people were injured when shots were fired wildly on I-295 in Yarmouth, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) outside Portland, Maine's biggest city. Eaton faced separate indictments because the two shootings at the Bowdoin home and on the highway happened in different counties.
Maine Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck called the shootings “an attack on the soul of our state." But the heavy toll of the crime was surpassed months later when an Army reservist, who also lived in Bowdoin, killed 18 people at two locations in Lewiston, in what would become the state's deadliest mass shooting.
Police still don’t know Eaton’s motive for the slayings.
An unsigned note found at the scene of the killings mentioned “someone being freed of pain and that the writer of the note wanted a new life,” according to a criminal affidavit. Eaton told the Portland Press Herald newspaper in jailhouse interviews that he was not in control of his actions at the time of the shootings and didn't understand why he did it.
Eaton, 35, had a criminal history in Maine, Kansas and Florida, and had just completed a prison stint in Maine triggered by an aggravated assault case. Eaton’s parents were staying with their friends in Bowdoin after Cynthia Eaton picked up Joseph Eaton at a Maine prison on April 14.
FILE - Friends of shooting victim Patricia Eger gather at a Christian organization where she volunteered in Lisbon Falls, Maine, Thursday, April 20, 2023. Joseph Eaton, who's charged with killing four people, including Eger, and injuring three others, is due in court Monday, July 1, 2024, for a plea hearing which his lawyer said will resolve all of his criminal charges. (AP Photo/Patrick Whittle, File)
FILE - Investigators work at the scene of a shooting where four people were killed on April 18, 2023, in Bowdoin, Maine. Joseph Eaton, who's charged with killing four people and injuring three others, is due in court Monday, July 1, 2024, for a plea hearing which his lawyer said will resolve all of his criminal charges. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
FILE - Joseph Eaton walks into a courtroom at West Bath District Court for his arraignment, July 28, 2023, in West Bath, Maine. Eaton, who confessed to killing his parents and their friends and firing at motorists on a busy highway after being released from prison, plans to enter pleas that will bring the criminal case to a conclusion, his lawyer said. (Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald via AP, Pool, File)
