England top Euro 2024 group but disappoint again in goalless Slovenia draw; Denmark through to last 16
ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate was met with boos and thrown beer cups by his own fans despite topping Group C as Slovenia also progressed to the knockout stages thanks to a 0-0 draw in Cologne.
The Three Lions were already assured of a place in the last 16 but can expect more criticism after failing to improve on underwhelming performances in edging past Serbia and drawing with Denmark.
England will have to wait until Wednesday’s final group games to find out which of the four best third-placed teams they will face in the last 16.
But more questions will be asked over one of the favourites’ ability to end a 58-year wait for major tournament glory as a star-studded forward line was snuffed out by Slovenia.
“That was the aim before the start of the tournament. Come top of the group and control our destiny,” said England captain Harry Kane.
“I thought we played a lot better than the other games. We couldn’t just find that finish but we look forward to the next one.”
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Southgate made a statement with his team selection, resisting the calls to make mass changes as Conor Gallagher replaced Trent Alexander-Arnold in the only alteration from the opening two games.
If the England boss was looking for a reaction by showing faith in the other 10 who have started all three matches in Germany, he was left disappointed.
Slovenia are now nine games unbeaten, which included beating Portugal 2-0 in a pre-tournament friendly.
Declan Rice had highlighted Benjamin Sesko as their big threat on Monday.
Sesko could have been lining up alongside Rice at Arsenal next season had he not shunned interest to extend his contract at RB Leipzig.
The 21-year-old shrugged off a thigh injury to start and had the first chance of the game when he tamely headed straight at Jordan Pickford four minutes in.
Slovenian celebrations
It took 20 minutes for England to pose a serious threat and only the offside flag denied them a slick opening goal.
Rice picked out Phil Foden’s run but the Manchester City midfielder had strayed beyond the Slovenian defence before squaring for Bukayo Saka to tap in.
England’s lack of attacking threat down the left had been pinpointed as a major weakness against Serbia and Denmark.
Newcastle right-back Kieran Trippier has had to deputise on the left side of defence due to Luke Shaw’s lack of match fitness, while Foden tends to drift inside.
However, it was down that side that Southgate’s men looked most threatening as a teasing Trippier cross just evaded Gallagher and Harry Kane at the back post.
Southgate took action at the break as Gallagher was replaced by Kobbie Mainoo.
The 19-year-old added some much needed thrust to the England midfield but they still struggled to turn dominance in possession into chances.
Kane saw a header cleared by Sesko from a corner and Rice flashed a shot wide from the edge of the box.
Southgate answered the call to give Cole Palmer his first minutes of the tournament in the final 20 minutes.
The Chelsea midfielder, who scored 26 goals at club level this season, had England’s only shot on target of the second half but failed to seriously test veteran goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
A point was jubilantly celebrated by the Slovenians as it did enough for them to progress as one of the best third-placed sides thanks to three draws from their three games.
Matjaz Kek’s men missed out on second place in the group solely due to Denmark’s superior record in qualifying as the sides had the same points, goal difference and goals scored.
By contrast, Southgate had to endure a barrage of abuse as he saluted the England fans at the end.
Danes go through
Denmark progressed to the knockout stages of Euro 2024 after a goalless draw with Serbia on Tuesday which allowed them to seal second spot in Group C, ahead of third-place Slovenia on disciplinary record.
The 0-0 stalemate finished with the same scoreline as England and Slovenia’s parallel group match, with England emerging group winners.
With Denmark and Slovenia both finishing on the same points total and goal tally, second place - and a meeting with hosts Germany - was decided on the basis of total yellow cards so far at the tournament.
It is Denmark who edged it and will face Germany in Dortmund, while England will return to Gelsenkirchen for a meeting with a third-placed side.
Slovenia will take on a group winner while Serbia were eliminated after finishing last.
Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand called the Danes “everyone’s team” and said “we have to be happy.
“We got through the group stage so let’s be very happy about this.”
Stojkovic said he was “proud” of Serbia’s efforts, adding “we played brave football, we tried our best and sometimes it’s not easy to score.
“If it was easy, games would finish 6-5 - one goal can change everything.”
Luka Jovic’s stoppage-time equaliser against Slovenia at this venue on Thursday had kept Serbian hopes alive of reaching the last-16 in their first Euros as an independent nation.
Having never beaten Denmark, Stojkovic backed his charges to “change history” against the 1992 European champions.
The Danes, semi-finalists at this competition in 2021, knew a draw would be enough to qualify but needed a win while hoping for an England loss to avoid meeting hosts Germany in the last 16.
Despite Stojkovic’s side needing a win to progress, the Danes were more willing to attack early, with the Serbs rarely venturing into Danish territory.
Denmark caught the Serbian defence napping early, Christian Eriksen’s free-kick finding Jonas Wind alone in the box, but the forward shot directly at goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic on the turn.
The Danes’ best phase came after 20 minutes, Eriksen forcing a fingertip save from Rajkovic and then pinning Serbia back with a series of corners.
Eriksen and Wind combined again from a corner to have the ball in the net on the 27-minute mark, but the midfielder’s direct cross had drifted out.
Jovic, brought from the bench at half-time, immediately posed questions of the Danish defence, pressuring Joachim Andersen into an own goal eight minutes in but the flag went up again for offside.
VAR confirmed Jovic, Serbia’s late hero against Slovenia, was inches offside.
Eriksen, Denmark’s most dangerous creative outlet, laid on an inch-perfect cross for Jannik Vestergaard after 65 minutes but the Leicester City defender’s header was gobbled up by a thankful Rajkovic.
Stojkovic went all out in the hope of a winner, bringing Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic on alongside forwards Jovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic, but the Serbs were unable to break through. AFP
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