Slovenians are rejoicing in their historic promotion! England under fire from critics

The last match of Group C, the lowest scoring group of the championship, was played in Cologne on Tuesday. Favoured England and Slovenia, hoping to qualify for the European Championship for the first time, faced off. And that’s exactly what they got, as they finished third after a goalless draw and have a clear eighth-place finish.

The English clearly dominated but failed to score. Despite having around 72 percent ball possession and with twelve shots, three of which went on target, the match ended 0:0. The Slovenians were supported by the good catching of Jan Oblak, goalkeeper of Atlético Madrid.

The Slovenians did not create many chances in the match, probably the biggest one came in the fifth minute when Šeško headed from the edge of the box, but his attempt had no punch and Pickford caught it easily.

In the 20th minute, Bukayo Saka scored after a beautiful series of passes, but his goal was quickly called back by England for offside. With ten minutes left in the first half, Phil Foden tried a direct kick, but his attempt from 29 yards was double-handed by Oblak.

England continued to create interesting chances, but couldn’t convert any of them. Even Palmer’s shot in the first minute of stoppage time didn’t change the situation and Slovenia could celebrate. Matjaz Kek’s charges managed to advance out of the group at a European tournament for the first time in the history of the national team.

Things are not looking good for coach Southgate

They finished third in Group C. They drew with second-placed Denmark, had the same number of points and the same score. The number of yellow cards was therefore decisive, and the Slovenians had one more. In the group of third-placed teams, Slovenia’s progress is no longer in doubt.

While the Slovenians were celebrating, the English were struggling. With five points and a score of 2:1, they were the first to advance from the group, but fell far short of expectations. This bothered especially the fans, who booed and whistled after the game. It was especially the coach Gareth Southgate who was even pelted with cups.

“I understand this against me and it’s better than if it was against the players. But it creates an unusual environment to operate in. I haven’t seen any other team that has qualified for the eight-finals experiencing anything like this. I understand it, I’m not going to back down from it, but I’m very proud of the players for the way they operate in it,” Southgate said of the criticism.

Source: UEFA, EURO 2024