England stumble to Euro group win; Slovenia, Denmark advance
Group C of Euro 2024 did not have the most exciting finish despite all four teams fighting for a spot in the round of 16. England had already clinched a spot in the knockout stages, but the team faced rampant pressure from supporters to turn out a better performance. Denmark entered Tuesday in second in the group, while Slovenia was looking to advance to the knockout stages of a major international tournament for the first time. Even Serbia, who many fans regularly pick as a dark horse, had a chance to advance with a win over Denmark.
By the end of the day, all four teams failed to score. Consequently, the group did not change at all. England is through as the group winner with Denmark finishing second. Slovenia drew all three of its games at Euro 2024, including this game against England. Those three points are enough to get the side into the knockout stage as one of the four third-place teams. Serbia, needing a win, crashes out.
Bland England held to draw against Slovenia at Euro 2024
The issues that plagued England in the first two games reared their head in the first half against Slovenia. The disjointed nature between the English defense and attack was clear. Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Conor Gallagher never looked like they were on the same page throughout the first 45 minutes. When the ball did advance forward, Phil Foden looked isolated on the left while Saka sat alone on the right. It all led to Harry Kane not receiving any service, and England failing to muster any attacks.
The best bit of play for England came in the 21st minute. A well-worked play down the left side started when Declan Rice played a smart pass into Phil Foden. Foden then squared the ball into Bukayo Saka, who tapped the ball in. However, Foden was clearly offside upon Rice playing his pass, and the referee flagged the play for offside.
Even though chances were few and far between, England fans got what they wanted. Kobbie Mainoo came in after the halftime break in place of Conor Gallagher. With 20 minutes to play, Cole Palmer finally made an appearance at Euro 2024 after his blistering campaign with Chelsea. At that point, Slovenia was sitting back and soaking up as much pressure as possible. England entered the game with the fewest touches in the opponent’s box among all teams at Euro 2024. With Slovenia hunkering down, England dominated possession. Even with all this ball control, England did not find strong chances.
Declan Rice rocketed a volley just wide of the post after some link-up play with Phil Foden, but the chances did not come for England. Despite having a whopping 74% of the ball, England had just four shots on target.
Cagey group sets up more round-of-16 matchups
Both Denmark and Slovenia played out three draws with the same goal differentials. The difference between the two went down to the ninth tiebreaker, which was European qualifier standings. Denmark had an edge, meaning it went through as second. Its reward is playing Germany, the hosts of the tournament, in the round of 16. Slovenia awaits its opponent depending on how the conclusion of the group stage goes tomorrow. England will play one of the four third-place teams. However, it is already linked to a rematch of the Euro 2020 Final against Italy in the quarterfinals, should both teams win their games in the round of 16.
PHOTOS: IMAGO