Euro 2024: England Escape Slovakia

England took on Slovakia earlier today in Gelsenkirchen, Germany at the Arena Aufschalke in the Euro 2024 Round of 16. England were heavy favorites entering the match, but their form coming into the game was worrying for many of their fans. They been stuck in second gear for the entirety of the group stage, having only scored two goals in three matches. There have been many questions about the tactics and line-ups put out by manager Gareth Southgate, with many supporters clamoring for changes to the starting XI and to have a generally more positive and attacking style of football. Slovakia, for their part, stunned Belgium in the group stage and did just enough to progress out of their group in 3rd place, so they would not be pushovers. Slovakia have only played England 5 times and lost 4 of them, but they did manage a draw against the Three Lions at Euro 2016.

The match was a little slow to start, with England yet again content to pass it along the back line. It was possession, but it was passive possession without too much venturing forward. Slovakia were the team interested in getting forward when on the ball, and they were creating a lot more than England did. The Slovakians were rewarded for their endeavors on 25 minutes when they broke forward on a long ball over the top, and got the opening goal through winger/forward Ivan Schranz. England’s back line failed to clear the ball over the top, and it was controlled on the edge of the box by forward David Strelec. Schranz was on an intelligent run in behind the England defense, and Strelec found him with a reverse pass directly into his path. Schranz hit the ball with the outside of his left foot, and England keeper Jordan Pickford could do nothing to keep it out of the right corner of his goal. Terrible defending from England, but all credit to Slovakia for taking advantage of the situation. A good goal, no two ways about it. The Slovakia supporters in the stadium lost their minds in celebration, and rightfully so.

England got back on the ball fairly quickly, but again there was no rhythm or intention about their play. They just kept passing it along the back line and occasionally into shallow midfield, with the Slovaks more than happy to sit back deep and defend their lead. England forced a series of corners towards the end of the half, but they could not find a breakthrough. At halftime, England were down 1-0.

The second half was much of the same in the first 15 minutes or so, and England were almost embarrassed by Strelec again when England lost possession off a throw-in and Strelec let go of a shot from the halfway line. Pickford was too far off his line to get to it, but mercifully, the shot faded away and to the right at the last moment. Had England conceded a second in such embarrassing fashion, it likely would have been match over and an early flight home. They were really hanging on at times. England thought they had an equalizer on 55 minutes when winger/forward/midfielder/who knows Phil Foden tapped in from close range, but the goal was (correctly) called back for offside. Foden was just ahead of the ball when it was played to him, although he didn’t need to be given that he was in acres of space. Frustrating, but it showed that England can score fairly easily when they move the ball a little bit quicker.

England had another “almost” moment when a cross from the left side found the head of striker Harry Kane about 7 yards out from goal, but his header lacked direction and the ball went wide of Slovak keeper Martin Dubravka’s goal. You’d have bet the mortgage on Kane scoring from there, which made his miss feel like it just wasn’t going to be England’s day. Midfielder Declan Rice later saw a long range effort strike Dubravka’s right hand post, after which it bounced back to Kane for an attempt. His scissor kick was too powerful though, and it bounced harmlessly over the top of the goal.

Southgate did make some changes to try and get some life into the team, and England did get better as the clock ticked towards full time. England were truly desperate towards the end, and did not look like they would be able to conjure up an equalizer. They were piling men forward though finally, so it was always going to be a nervy finish for both sets of fans in the stadium and around the world.

Late into stoppage time, England were awarded a throw-in on the right wing. Right back Kyle Walker took it, and he launched the ball into the box as hard as he could. It was flicked on by the head of England center back Marc Guehi, and it fell directly to midfielder Jude Bellingham about 10 yards from the goal. The ball was high in the air though, so Bellingham had to contort his body and legs to get in position to strike it. He caught the ball sweetly with an overhead scissor kick, and it bounced into the left hand corner of Dubravka’s goal with him rooted to the spot. An equalizer! Not only that, but a stunning equalizer on 95 minutes! England fans were ecstatic, and there was massive collective sigh from everyone as well. Slovakia were stunned, having defended so well for 94 minutes. The match ended barely a minute or so after that, and instead of going home, England were allowed to fight on for another 30 minutes.

England kept the pressure on that they had sustained for the final 10 minutes or so of normal time, and were rewarded for that pressure just as extra time got underway. A free kick from the right wing was crossed into the box by substitute midfielder Cole Palmer, only for it to meet the fist of Dubravka, who punched it out. It only went as far as the edge of the box though, where it was hit back into the mix by substitute midfielder Ebrechi Eze. The ball bounced into the air, and it was flicked across the face of goal by the head of substitute striker Ivan Toney. The ball hung in the air for a split second, and Kane was on hand to head it home from about 3 yards out! Great positional instinct from Kane, but even better instincts from Eze and Toney to keep the ball in a dangerous area. Well done to Toney in particular, who had come on just before Bellingham’s goal and likely didn’t think he would have much of a role to play. Slovakia failed to properly clear their lines though, and England punished them for it.

However, there was still 29 minutes of extra time left to play. England were not home and dry just yet, and Slovakia reminded them of that a few times with some “nearly” moments of their own. Maddeningly, England reverted to dropping deep and defending again after they took the lead. They were inviting pressure, but some good defending and fairly routine saves from Pickford saw England snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It was insanely nerve-wracking, but they did just enough to secure passage to the quarterfinals.

Once again though, England were not good enough throughout the match and probably did not fully deserve to win. They defended well for the most part, but the midfield was an absolute mess and there were long passages of play where they did not create any chances. Bellingham’s goal in the 95th minute was England’s first shot on goal for the whole match! That’s inexcusable. A team with this level of talent on it should not be struggling as much as they do in attack. But its the same story as the last three matches – players are being played out of position and they have been coached to play passively and retain possession.

I think Southgate is done after this tournament. Unless England go on and win the whole thing (unlikely), Southgate will be out of a job. It’s monumentally frustrating to watch this England team, and most of that is on Southgate. He refuses to significantly change his line-ups, and seems intent on employing players out of position. Foden is useless on the left wing. Fullback Kieran Trippier is even more useless at left back. Foden and Trippier play as if they have never met one another. Palmer is not a right winger. Eze is not a left winger or a left back. Kane frequently has to drop deep to get on the ball, and that is not where he is most effective. There are a lot of questionable decisions being made by Southgate before the lads even set foot on the pitch, and they are not being set up for success.

One silver lining for the next match is that Southgate is going to have to change things up out of necessity. Guehi was (questionably) yellow-carded early in the match, which was his second yellow of the tournament. He will miss the next match on a 1 game suspension. Trippier was also injured late on, so he might not feature next Saturday either. There would be no better time for left back Luke Shaw to find some fitness. If he is not fit though, who will Southgate deploy at left back? Unclear at this time. As has happened in the last three matches, England still have questions that remain unsolved. Changes need to happen and will happen, but the extent of them remains unclear. Honestly though, even with all these players out of position, England should still be relatively comfortable against a side like Slovakia. The fact that it took a world-class goal in the 95th minute just to prolong the match is an indictment of Southgate’s poor tactics. Keeping passive possession is fine sometimes, but not when you are down 1-0 for close to 70 minutes!

In an attempt to not be completely doom and gloom, there were a few positives. It was right of Southgate to start Kobbie Mainoo over Conor Gallagher in midfield alongside Rice. Mainoo was arguably England’s most consistent player today. Southgate was also right to bring on Palmer, Eze, and Toney. That is undeniable. He waited a long time to make those changes, particularly in the case of Toney, but they were the correct changes nonetheless. England looked much sharper in attack with two forwards on the pitch instead of just one. He adjusted his tactics, and with a good amount of luck, the adjustments paid off. England also scored two goals for the first time the whole tournament, and they did well to slow Slovakia down in the second half and extra time.

As has been stated before though, England must improve. They will play Switzerland in Dusseldorf, Germany next Saturday (July 6 at 9:00 a.m. PDT) in the quarterfinals, and the Swiss are significantly more talented than Slovakia. Eventually, England’s luck is going to run out. You do need luck to win at a major tournament, but you can’t solely rely on luck. The team has to be set up correctly and the style of play can’t be limited to passive possession. There’s still an opportunity to change things!

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Euro 2024: England Held by Slovenia, But Still Win Group C

England played their third and final group match of Euro 2024 earlier today, taking on Slovenia in Cologne, Germany. It was a scorching hot day in northwest Germany, so both sides knew going in this could end up being a slog. England knew that a win and possibly even a draw would see them top the group, depending on the result between Denmark vs. Serbia. England were also through to the knockout stages as of yesterday, when Albania lost to Spain. The rules around progression from the group stages are different this year, with the top two teams from each group advancing, along with the four best 3rd place teams (based on points, goal differential, and other factors). It can be kind of tricky to explain, but the main takeaway is that England had already clinched progression to the knockout stages before this match even started.

Slovenia were quick out of the blocks, and forced the first shot on goal of the match. It was a tame header from striker Benjamin Sesko though, which England keeper Jordan Pickford collected easily. England eventually got on the ball more, but when they did it was the usual harmless and tepid position that they’ve been guilty of the last two matches. No one was willing to run forward, no one was willing to pass it forward, and no one was willing to dribble a little bit and take on their defender. This lasted for about 20 minutes or so. England did have the ball in the back of the net around the 25 minute mark after a neat pass and move and from winger(?) Phil Foden and midfielder Declan Rice, which was tapped in by winger Bukayo Saka. Unfortunately, the goal was (correctly) ruled out by the linesman for offside. Foden was about half yard behind his man when Rice played him the ball. Frustrating, but that moment should have provided a formula for an England goal. When they move the ball quickly in attack, the Slovenians won’t be able to keep up.

Unfortunately, England seemed to ignore this formula and continue to play passive and slow possession that often ended up in nothing happening. On some occasions, they would lose possession in dangerous areas and allow the Slovenians to run at them. There were one or two half chances for them in the first half that made Three Lions supporters sweat more than the heat did. Make no mistake – Slovenia were not over-awed by England nor the occasion, particularly in the first half. They were well organized in defense, and keeper Jan Oblak had little to do. At halftime it was 0-0, with Slovenia surely the happier of the two sides.

England manager Gareth Southgate brought on midfielder Kobbie Mainoo at halftime for the ineffective Conor Gallagher, and after about 4 or 5 minutes, England were in possession and control of the ball a lot more. That is not solely down to Mainoo, but he certainly helped. They were still struggling to create clear chances, but they had snuffed out Slovenia’s attack for the most part. Substitute midfielder Cole Palmer and winger Anthony Gordon eventually came on, and it was these subs that were probably England’s best players on the day. Palmer got on the ball and created a half-chance for himself, after which Gordon did well to dribble at his man and create a chance. There were one or two other “good buildup but misplaced final pass” situations for England, but the match ended 0-0.

Fortunately for England, Denmark vs. Serbia also ended 0-0, so England won Group C on 5 points. Denmark finished second, with the Slovenians third. Serbia are eliminated. Group C ended up being a bit of a snoozer overall. Very few goals and a lot of 0-0 draws. England will play on next Sunday, with a likely opponent being the Netherlands, but that is not set in stone as of yet due to tomorrow’s fixtures. But by winning the group, England have avoided the fearsome quartet of Spain, Portugal, Germany, and France, all of whom are on the other side of the bracket. They cannot play any of those teams until the final.

But that is about the extent of the good news. England’s performance today was not a reassuring one for fans, not by a long shot. They failed to score for the first time this tournament against a side they should likely be scoring against. Again, the play was slow and lethargic for long portions of the match. There was very little effort from England’s players to get forward and take chances. This has to change. The system is certainly part of the problem, because it’s not allowing the players to play where they excel. I think the lack of productivity feeds into itself, because the body language of the players today was very nervous and anxious.

Southgate needs to fix this, and it needs to be fixed now. He started Gallagher in place of midfielder Trent Alexander-Arnold today, but that was the only change he made from the last match and it didn’t do anything. Bringing on Mainoo, Palmer, and Gordon was correct, but Gordon got little to no time to do anything. Foden still looks lost on the left wing. Midfielder Jude Bellingham was anonymous for the second straight match. Striker Harry Kane was dropping deep too often and not leading the line like he is supposed to. Left back Kieran Trippier needs to be dropped, too. He slows down play far too much and still acts like he has no idea Foden exists in front of him.

One potential solution would be to drop Gallagher and move Bellingham to the number 8 position, alongside Rice at the 6. That would allow Foden to move into his natural number 10 position, and Gordon can take his place on the left wing. If left back Luke Shaw ever gets himself fit, he needs to be played over Trippier. These are just a few of many ways in which this team could be improved. Most importantly of course, the manager must take the shackles off these lads. They need to be encouraged to run forward and take on players, because most of them have the natural talent to do so.

Southgate seems to have made up his mind, though. He is going to live and die by this “system” of his. Hopefully, he at least starts Mainoo, Palmer, and Gordon in the next match. We need energy and drive in this team, not passive possession. Happy to see the lads moving on and winning the group of course, but much improvement is still needed.

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