To a man, Liverpool outstanding tonight in the circumstances. Still lacking an edge up front but by far the better team in the second half. Milos Kerkez, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk outstanding, as was Connor Bradley, whose injury is a huge blow.
Gravenberch's goal against Everton - a deep midfielder suddenly running in behind - felt unusual. But then Krejci did the same thing for Wolves a couple of hours later. Feels like this type of player increasingly has license to push on.
nytimes.com/athletic/66615…
Richie Sadlier pays tribute to the Irish players, supporters and in particular the under-pressure Heimir Hallgrimsson on a night that will go down in history.
LFC looking great going forward but susceptible defensively, as we’ve seen all pre season.
A lot of the goals conceded by LFC have come from going man to man really aggressively & leaving space in behind. Today Kerkez is getting dragged inside with Sarr leaving Gakpo chasing WB
@KayBrannigan@henrywinter Not slagging at all. Ironic that one of the English media is saying that you must be inspired because the support is loud, while patronising Scotland past two weeks because they have great support.
@DesMcGinn@henrywinter We are used to slagging but we have positivity and Que Serra Serra ! Made me laugh tho ! 62 million population England , 6 at a push Scotland , do the maths 😂
#ENG 0 #SLO 0. Whistle report from Cologne Stadium.
After the sh*t, the show was needed. But it didn’t come and the fans made their feelings felt. England failed to put on the performance required after all the criticism from Lineker and company, from assorted bods and pods. England’s magnificent support played their part, forming a wall of noise, but their players lacked poise and full-time was met with censure of Southgate and his players. England drew and won the group but they're losing the fans.
England now face a round of 16 meeting with a third-placed team back in hard-to-reach Gelsenkirchen. So start making tracks for the train station now. And England have to start playing better than this. What is wrong with them? Have they lost belief in Southgate? “In Southgate We Trust” read one flag. But Southgate has to understand that the fans’ trust is being stretched.
The heat was on here, and not simply because the temperature nudged 30C. The scrutiny was intense. England passed and passed in the first half, interchanging but going nowhere. Some of England’s triangles had a Bermuda feel. It was so frustrating to witness. England have the players. They’re ranked fifth in the world to Slovenia’s 57th, their fires supposedly lit by all the negative headlines.
Southgate’s one change, Gallagher for Alexander-Arnold, didn’t work. Slovenia took one look at Gallagher, saw a weak link, and pressed him, turning over possession. Gallagher was booked and didn’t reappear after the break, his place taken by Mainoo. The Manchester United youngster made an immediate difference, bringing quick feet and a quick mind.
The second half was better. It couldn’t have been much worse. England struggled to break down Slovenia’s two blue banks of four. They needed faster transition but were sluggish or went sideways. It was not until the 29th minute that Foden got a quick ball in and England kept the pressure on, culminating with a Kane shot straight at Oblak. Only Foden really took the game to Slovenia, cutting in from the left, whipping in a cross, or sending in a free-kick controlled by Oblak. Foden was helped by Bellingham dropping back to give him space to work in.
Slovenia were better organised, holding England at bay, and occasionally a threat. Sesko, unmarked, sent a header straight at Pickford. England looked troubled. Their fans, who arrived in raucous voice, fell quiet. Briefly. They were swiftly running through their songbook again. But a flurry of boos at the break reflected many views.
Mainoo’s arrival brought some ideas and energy. England raised their game. England fans raised their decibel level even higher. Yet still Slovenia resisted, and still alarmed England on the counter. Sporar raced through the middle until cynically tugged back by Guehi. Southgate reacted, sending on Palmer for the tiring Saka, and triggering an almighty roar from the England fans.
Palmer suddenly accelerated inside, Kane swept in a cross, and Slovenia were momentarily opened up. Southgate rolled the dice again, sending on Alexander-Arnold at right-back (Walker went left), and then Gordon but too little, too late. #SLOENG#EURo2024