England vs Slovenia. European Championships Group C.
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Report from Euro 2024 as England secure top spot in Group C but fail to impress as they are held to a goalless draw with Slovenia in Cologne; draw is enough for Slovenia also to progress to the knockout stages in third alongside second-placed Denmark
Wednesday 26 June 2024 11:54, UK
England stuttered to a disappointing 0-0 draw with Slovenia in Cologne but it was still enough to win Group C at Euro 2024.
Bukayo Saka had a goal disallowed for an offside against Phil Foden but, in terms of attempts that would count, England did not register a shot until the 30th minute. Harry Kane came closest to scoring but could not connect cleanly with Kieran Trippier's cross.
Gareth Southgate made only one change to the side that struggled for fluency in the draw against Denmark, introducing Conor Gallagher for Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield as anticipated, but the Chelsea man was unable to make any positive impact.
He was replaced by Kobbie Mainoo for the second half and the youngster sparked an improved performance but England's pressure could not be converted into chances let alone goals. There was a lack of movement and a lot of loose touches.
Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon did get a taste of tournament action but the goal never came. Denmark's failure to defeat Serbia means that England still top Group C, while Slovenia secured the point that they needed to progress as one of the best third-placed teams.
England can count themselves fortunate to have dodged what appears to be the more difficult half of the draw in the knockout stages, avoiding teams such as Germany, Spain, Portugal and France. But that will be moot unless this team can show a lot more than this.
"I think we all wanted to win," John Stones told ITV.
"But the objective was to top the group and we have done that so I am extremely pleased. It is not always going to be an easy road and it is not going to be easy when everyone has got a target on our backs to beat us.
"Two clean sheets out of three is a great positive for us to take into the next stage and I thought there was a lot of improvement from the previous two games.
"We tried to be more free-flowing and I thought we did that, found people in the pockets, created more chances and I believe it is another step in the right direction.
"I understand some of the fans' frustration with us not scoring, not taking our chances. That's football. We left everything out there and it is never an easy game."
Southgate chose to accentuate the positives when speaking to ITV afterwards.
"At the moment, we are not quite getting that break in front of goal. I thought the boys who came on had a really good impact on the game and we have had the discipline to keep a clean sheet that has meant we ended up winning the group."
He did praise the impact of Palmer, agreeing that the youngster offers something different. "He did. Very good. He finds space well, lovely technique."
With Mainoo and, albeit briefly, Gordon also having their moments, it raises the possibility of them featuring more prominently in the knockout stages.
"They are obviously really young players so we are balancing blooding them in a difficult environment. But they had a really good impact when they came on and used the ball very well. There were lots of things we can build on from tonight."
Sky Sports' Gary Neville told ITV that he is "certain" that Mainoo has done enough to secure the central-midfield role alongside Declan Rice in England's round-of-16 game given the difference that he made during the second half in Cologne.
"I am certain Mainoo will start the next game, Southgate thought Gallagher was the option for the energy, but it was quite obvious we needed someone on there to get us playing and [Adam] Wharton is capable of doing that as well.
"The more substitutions we made, the less rigid we looked. We looked so basic in the first half, it was a struggle to watch that and I think we moved forward in the second half. We did not get the result, but there were glimpses of what we can be."
