June 26 – Top of the group, unbeaten and a huge stroke of good fortune by being on the favourable side of the draw for the knockout phase.
You might think everything in the garden is rosy but the criticism of Gareth Southgate and his style of play continues to rain down from all quarters.
It wasn’t the only thing that did. Following the 0-0 draw with Slovenia, the hoardes of England fans once again showed their displeasure by jeering the England manager and even threw plastic cups at the final whistle.
“I’ve not seen any team qualify and receive similar,” Southgate bemoaned as he urged the fans to stay loyal.
“I’m not going to back down from going over and thanking the fans who were brilliant during the game. They might feel differently towards me. But for me, we only will succeed if we are together.”
Whilst there is perhaps a case for arguing that Southgate is the victim of his own tenure – the most successful England manager in terms of tournament progress since Alf Ramsey over half a century ago – England went into Euro 2024 as one of its clear favourites but have left most supporters cold with their lacklustre displays.
“I think probably expectation (is different). We’ve made England over the last six or seven years fun again. I think it has been enjoyable for the players,” Southgate argued. “We’ve got to be very, very careful that it stays that way.”
England certainly haven’t been anywhere near convincing in any of their three games, scoring just two goals despite a supposedly fearsome forward line, leaving the country distinctly underwhelmed so far.
Southgate led England to the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2018 and the final of the last Euros. But his team will need to improve radically to progress further in Sunday’s last-16 round, whoever they face.
Tuesday’s result also meant history for Slovenia who reached the round of 16 for the first time.
“We are such a small country, with such a big heart and mental strength. That’s why I’m very proud of my team,” coach Matjaz Kek said. “This is only the beginning for a new and beautiful era for Slovenian football.”
While it was a proud night for Slovenians, not so for England.
“You can’t go into every game with such pressure and score four goals. Football doesn’t work like that,” Southgate argued as he defended his team’s lack of creativity and inventiveness. “It is important to win the group to control your own destiny. I don’t think we were going to go from where we were to winning three or four nil.”
“So many things are starting to come together. We had a lot of issues before the tournament. I think the way the defence has played has been a huge positive and something to build on. We created chances but we just have to convert those chances.”
Yet England’s hungry young substitutes were arguably their best players on the night and it is highly likely changes will be made for the last 16 tie.
“They are young players and we are blooding them in a difficult environment,” Southgate said. “They had a good impact for us and did good things for us. We have to build on that.”
But it’s the rigid system that continues to baffle pundits, fans and media alike, with all of England’s so-called superstars – Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and skipper Harry Kane to name but three – seemingly uncomfortable with the lack of flexibility.
England’s running off the ball and getting into dangerous positions has been extremely poor and asked about being in the favourable half of the draw Southgate added: “We should not be seduced.”
In other words, we have to play a darned sight better to move on.
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