(Football news) Although Gareth Southgate’s team has managed to secure four points out of a possible six, they have not been able to wow or excite their opponents, who are yet to achieve that coveted first-ever victory in a European championship.
There was one clear distinction between England’s encounter with Denmark on June 20 and their first Group C match against Serbia. In their match against the former, the Three Lions did not suffer for their inaction after taking the lead, but they would not get away with playing so poorly again.
Under the closed roof of the Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt – where the pitch left a lot to be desired – Harry Kane netted in his fourth successive major tournament for his country, but a disjointed England side were subsequently undone by a 25-yard Morten Hjulmand rocket later on in the first half.
As was the case in the narrow success over Serbia, only the woodwork denied England a precious second – or Phil Foden to be more exact – but the performance of Southgate’s troops was lethargic, lackadaisical and indicative of that of a side who are not fully sure of their roles in the XI.
Even captain Kane admitted that he and his teammates are often scratching their heads when it comes to pressing the opposition – leading to a familiar sense of pessimism emanating from the nation – but the overall picture is more pleasant; the Three Lions are already through to the last 16.
Results going their way on Monday evening assured England of their ticket to the knockout rounds, as Albania’s 1-0 loss to Spain in Group B ensured that at the very worst, Southgate’s men will progress as one of the four best teams to finish third in their group.
Victory by any scoreline or Denmark failing to beat Serbia will guarantee a first-placed finish – preventing a possible meeting with Germany in the first knockout round – and even if disaster strikes, the Three Lions will have the safety net of a high third-placed points total to fall back on.
As a little extra, England could also go through a European Championships group stage unbeaten for the fourth time in a row, and not since Euro 2000 – when they were bested 3-2 by Romania – have the Three Lions lost their final pre-knockout contest at the tournament.
However, England’s paltry tally of two wins from seven matches should have the Slovenians adopting a glass-half-full approach for Tuesday’s crunch match, where the former Yugoslavia nation seek to finally register their first Euros finals at the sixth attempt.
Matjaz Kek’s side were mere moments away from achieving that feat during their matchday two scrap with Serbia, where right-back Zan Karnicnik arrived at the back stick to tap home in front of an elated wall of white, only for the head of Luka Jovic to break Slovenia hearts in the fifth minute of added time.
Having been given a taste of their own medicine – Kek’s men left it late to hit back in a 1-1 draw with Denmark in their opening battle – Slovenia currently occupy third place in the standings and cannot be separated from the Danes whatsoever in head-to-head or goals metrics, but victory in Cologne will see them through.
Remarkably, all four finishes are still possible for Tuesday’s underdogs, who are not to be taken lightly whatsoever if an eight-match unbeaten run – the last three of which have all ended 1-1 – is anything to go by, and it has been over a year since they last failed to score in any setting.
Not since a 2-0 loss to Finland 14 games ago have Kek’s men drawn a blank in front of goal, but from their six previous contests with England, five have ended in defeat, including a 1-0 loss at the 2010 World Cup which secured the Three Lions place in the last 16 – a promising omen for Southgate’s weary charges.
Furthermore, Slovenia now hold the unwanted record for playing the most matches at the European Championships without managing a single victory, playing out four draws and suffering one loss – to Tuesday’s foes – in that unsuccessful streak.
Also read: England and how they could lineup against Slovenia in Euro 2024
