AD 2024: 0-0 – England also disappointing against Slovenia

Harry Kane also remained harmless against Slovenia.
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The Three Lions got the ticket to qualify for the round of 16 on Monday evening, after Spain's victory over Albania. It is good for England that the first two matches against Serbia and Denmark were not convincing at all. Criticisms of Gareth Southgate have become louder, but against Slovenia, the England manager rotated just once – Gallagher starting the double six in favor of Alexander-Arnold. Meanwhile, his counterpart Matjaz Kek used the same starting lineup for the Slovenians in the third match of the tournament.

It was clear from the start in Cologne that the Three Lions, who are very strong, have struggled so far. England failed to find solutions with the ball against the well-formed Slovenians. There was a lack of movement without the ball and almost no running deep. The ball is often only distributed between the double six and back four – which makes it easier to defend for Slovenia.

In contrast to what happened in the first two matches, the Euro 2021 finalist initially defended very well – Cisco had the first chance of the match with a header (fifth). England made their first reasonable attack after 20 minutes, but Saka's goal was disallowed due to a clear offside. There were other chances for Kane (31) and Foden (34), but most of them came by chance.

Palmer's first tournament appearance

At the end of the first half, England's dominance increased and Kane narrowly missed the ball after Trippier's cross (41), but there simply were not enough attackers to penetrate Slovenia. I entered the break without goals.

In the second half, Maino was allowed to experiment alongside Rice in midfield in place of Gallagher. This has not made the English game any more innovative. So Southgate let the attacking talent Palmer off the leash for the first time after 70 minutes – and Saka remained pale beforehand. The Chelsea player was in immediate demand, but it was Rice who scored the first goal of note after the break (75th).

This was the case, which was another indication of England's glaring attacking weakness. The British once again disappointed in this tournament. Because the parallel match between Denmark and Serbia also ended in a goalless draw, the Three Lions became the group winners. The Round of 16 will be played against one of the top four third-placed teams on Sunday (6pm).

Slovenia also celebrated its qualification to the round of 16, clinching the three points by one point over Croatia and by goal difference over Hungary.