England are through to the finals of the European Championship after a 0-0 draw with Slovenia, which means they have won Group Three.
Gareth Southgate’s side have been underwhelming in their opening two games of the season and there was no sign of a breakthrough in the first half of their final game on Tuesday evening. England dominated possession but managed only four shots on target and Bukayo Saka’s goal was disallowed by Phil Foden.
Southgate took midfielder Conor Gallagher off at half-time for Coby Mayo and, despite a slightly improved display, a clean sheet against a side ranked 57th in the world (England are fifth) does not inspire much confidence heading into the knockout stages. .
Slovenia are in third place and will have to wait until Wednesday to see who they will play in the round of 16. They finished with the same record as Denmark in the group stage. (the same number of yellow cards in the three matches) but they lost because they had a lower position compared to Denmark in the European qualifiers.
Danny Taylor, Oliver Kaye, Mark Carey, Dan Sheldon and Will Janes analyze the game’s key moments.
Why did Jude Bellingham leave the boil? Yes, a very unlikely sentence when he scored a Bryan Robson-style header in the opener against Serbia nine days ago.
But the hard truth is, we haven’t seen anything like that since Bellingham. We’re only getting flashes of brilliance – because it’s often brilliance – and it feels like trouble as England struggle to connect in attack.
(Marvin Ebo Gungoyer – GES Sportfoto/Getty Images)
Build them up to tear them down? is not. If you love football, you have to appreciate the man’s talent. However, Bellingham was so misplaced at times against Slovenia (and he was amazing at it) that it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if Gareth Southgate toyed with the idea of taking him out, putting Phil Foden in the middle and introducing Anthony Gordon. The attacking role on the left side.
It never happened, but it must be a concern for Southgate, especially with Bellingham’s performance for Real Madrid in the Champions League final earlier this month fresh in his mind.
Danny Taylor
Did the British press seem more alive?
While England proved their mettle without kicking the ball on Monday night, with the final result in other matches, the focus here was on a strong performance in the result – particularly off the ball.
Gareth Southgate’s fine performance against Denmark on Thursday earned him mixed praise.
“We know from the profile of the players we’ve got, we don’t really feel the pitch is high,” Southgate said. “We don’t think this is the physical level of the team at the moment.”
So all eyes were on England’s defensive approach against Slovenia. The verdict? Better, but still not good. Against Denmark, England’s 26 passes allowed per defensive action (PPDA) – a low number indicative of a more active pressing approach – was the joint-lowest pressing intensity in their games at Euro 2020, World Cup 2022 and Euro 2024. .
Tuesday’s team finale showed improvement, allowing 11 passes before the defense took over. Of course, the caveat is that England dominated possession for long periods of time – meaning they had little chance to win the ball back and show any defensive improvement.
The intention was clear from the first minute when Harry Kane, supported by Phil Foden, tried to connect with goalkeeper Jan Oblak. – Aggression is needed to get the ball up, but the coordination of individual runs is still sometimes lacking.
You can give some credit to Southgate’s team for improving Thursday’s away performance, but in reality it could have been a lot worse.
Mark Carey
Conor Gallagher’s attempt fell flat
Southgate substituted Trent Alexander-Arnold for Conor Gallagher but replaced the Chelsea midfielder at half-time with Manchester United’s Kobi Maino.
Gallagher had no impact behind Dylan Rice, playing the ball forward seven times out of 20 passes in 45 minutes. It was nothing to shout about, and it will probably dispel the notion that Alexander-Arnold has sent his team back to back against Serbia and Denmark.
(Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Gallagher’s half of the dribble ended without him completing a dribble, creating a chance, winning the ball or taking possession. But he lost his property four times.
Southgate experimented with Alexander-Arnold, and that didn’t work. Then he turned to Gallagher, and that didn’t work either.
Both players will no doubt feel the heavy lifting, with arguments that Gallagher was left out to dry after being given just 45 minutes here by the England manager. The last 16 matches are against the third-placed teams on Sunday.
and Sheldon
The problem of the British left: a review
England’s much-discussed left-back will make them out of control against Denmark, with the relatively more active – and strong – Bukayo Saka on the right supported by the layered Kyle Walker.
In contrast, England’s left flank was a big target against Slovenia, with 42 per cent of their attacking touches coming in that third – their highest share of the three group games.
Phil Foden was once again floating around the field, but there were some good spins as he, Kieran Trippier and Declan Rice looked to create and combine some triangles. With Foden coming in, Judd Bellingham was pulling in on the left to try and create some momentum.
All in all, there weren’t too many exciting moments to shout about, but Southgate’s side will be better off for that part of the pitch after such a disappointing performance in their previous game.
Mark Carey
England screamed again.
For the second time in three matches at Euro 2024, England’s fans were treated to a most boring performance at the final whistle. Gareth Southgate and his players tried to applaud the fans but were met with boos and jeers.
But this disappointing draw against Slovenia was enough to secure first place in Group Three with one win and two draws (only two goals scored) from three games. The team has drawn five of their six games, equaling their all-time record (seven) for the number of goals scored in the first round of the European Championship.
England’s reward is to face the third-placed team in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday (5pm UK time, pm ET). It is likely to be the Netherlands, after losing 3-2 to Austria earlier in the day, but the draw will not be confirmed until the final two teams are drawn tomorrow (Wednesday). They will face the winners of the match between Switzerland and defending champions Italy on Saturday.
The list of semi-final opponents doesn’t look too difficult either. And with Spain, Germany, Portugal and France in the other half of the draw, there is a sense that the group stage bracket looks as good for England as it did at the 2018 World Cup. In the finals, Colombia (on penalties) and Sweden, one of the heavyweights, fell on points difference.
But let’s be clear about this: England have so far been turgid at Euro 2024. International competitions are rarely won by teams that play free-flowing football from start to finish, but Gareth Southgate and his team will have a lot of work to do if they get in. It’s about taking advantage of the opportunities that fate has given you.
Oliver Kay
A word, perhaps, for Jordan Pickford, who now has more clean sheets in major competitions than any other England goalkeeper in history.
(Marvin Ebo Gungoyer – GES Sportfoto/Getty Images)
It was his 11th, taking him ahead of Peter Shilton, and sometimes you have to wonder if the Everton man deserves a little more credit for his international record.
There are only four goalkeepers – Shilton (125), David Seaman (75), Joe Hart (75) and Gordon Banks (73) – with more England caps. And although there are better ways to judge a goalkeeper than a clean sheet, Pickford is still some work from a truly great record holder like Shilton.
Danny Taylor
Team C is not fondly remembered.
There were just seven goals scored in six matches in Group C – equaling the record for the fewest team in European Championship history.
In 2016, Germany, Poland, Northern Ireland and Ukraine were the only other teams to score as many goals in Group C. Only one match in this division ended 0-0. Germany vs Poland) There were two in this year’s group (tonight’s games).
Jeans
What’s up Southgate?
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Southgate said: “We completely controlled the game, especially in the second half. We kept them plugged in for a long, long time. I’m glad we have the peace of mind not to worry. We know what it was like last week and in these moments when everyone is desperate for a win, you start using the ball instead of being patient and you find yourself in trouble.
“I was very pleased with the impact of all the players that came into the game. Of course, we would have had a couple of goals to send everyone home happy, but that was not the case tonight. That was not the will of the players to try, we lost that finishing touch. The last touch or the pass will let us down a few times.
What did Slovenian coach Matjaz Kek say?
“I didn’t expect us to get out. We showed that we deserve to go through our game. Today we were playing one of the favorites for the tournament. We showed mental strength. When we were friendly, we had problems. England had a good chance in the 90th minute, but Jan (goalkeeper Oblak) didn’t do that much. We played a very strong team. I am very proud of this team.
“We struggled in the second half. They were dominant, they stepped up their game. But if we don’t suffer against England something is not right. Congratulations to England for finishing first, but congratulations. We were lucky to get that chance at the end, but today we got the chance we didn’t have against Serbia (scoring a stoppage time goal in a 1-0 win for them).
“I’m sure everyone will be happy for us in this small country. I am very proud of my team and I think this is the start of a new and beautiful era for Slovenian football.
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(Top photo: Getty Images)