England clawed their way up from first place and improved on an exceptional run. Who will the tournament favourite face in the eighth round?

It was a pain, but the desired result is in the world. England ended their European Championship qualifying group performances with a 0-0 draw with Slovenia to improve on their exceptional run. Who can the tournament favourite face in the eighth round?

No, the cradle of football is not satisfied with the performance in the preliminary groups. England may have won their Group C, but they have only gained five points and unconvincing performances are giving island football fans no sleep.

After a spirited 1-0 win against Serbia, there were two draws (1-1 against Denmark and 0-0 against Slovenia) and that is simply not enough for one of the biggest favourites to win the trophy. Even the criticised coach Gareth Southgate realises this.

“I think the changes we made had a positive effect on tonight. But we weren’t able to make the right final passes. The problem was also in finishing. But we are improving,” uefa.com quoted the English coach as saying after the game against the Slovenians.

The last loss in the group stage is 20 years old

But despite the criticism, England extended their exceptional streak. Indeed, Albion have been unbeaten in the European Championships for fourteen matches in the group stages. The last time they lost was twenty years ago at Euro 2004 against France (2-1).

“I am very proud of the players. They kept their composure on the ball and didn’t make any mistakes in defence. We controlled the second half and created some really good chances. We just couldn’t take advantage of them,” Southgate pointed out.

“Our goal before the tournament was to finish top of the group and we did that. We played a tough game tonight. Now we need to focus on the next stage of the tournament and win the next tough games,” commented England captain Harry Kane.

The Islanders will face one of the third teams from Group D or E in the tournament. At the moment it looks like the four-point Dutch, who dropped to third in Group D after Tuesday’s 2-3 loss to Austria.

Source: CT Sport, UEFA.com