England advanced to the knockout stage of Euro 2024 as group winner after a 0-0 draw against Slovenia, but that still wasn’t good enough for some fans.
The result at Cologne Stadium came amid building frustration towards the England team from supporters, who have criticised the style of play adopted by coach Gareth Southgate, which has seen England struggle to a 1-0 win over Serbia before two draws with Denmark and Slovenia.
As the final whistle was blown to signify England’s progress to the next phase of the tournament, discontented fans booed with some even throwing cups at the England coach as he applauded them after full-time.
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The nil-all draw also saw Slovenia reach the round of 16 for the first time and Croatia was eliminated.
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England had already been assured of advancing but doing so as Group C winner means it will play one of the qualifying third-placed teams in the round of 16 and is on the opposite side of the draw to Spain, France, Germany and Portugal.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Southgate expressed disappointment at the behaviour of some fans at the ground.
“I understand it. I’m not going to back away from it. The most important thing is we stay with the team. I understand the narrative towards me.
“That’s better for the team than it being towards them but it is creating an unusual environment to operate in. I’ve not seen any other team qualify and receive similar. I’m not going to back away from it.
“I’m in a really good place. I’m asking the players to be fearless so I won’t back down from going over to thank the fans. I have been around England for 20 years and I’ve seen this before. It’s a strange environment.”
On progressing to the next round, captain Harry Kane said: “That was the aim before the start of the tournament. Come top of the group and control our destiny.
“I thought we played a lot better than the other two games. We just couldn’t find that final finish. We look forward to the next one.”
In a game of few chances, England substitute Cole Palmer could have sealed the win in stoppage time, but his shot was saved by Slovenia goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
It was another unconvincing performance from a team that went into the tournament as one of the favourites to be crowned European champion.
Southgate and his players have faced heavy criticism despite having already advanced before the final group game.
England’s performance against Denmark was so uninspired that former captain and now BBC presenter Gary Lineker used an expletive to describe it in a brutal assessment.
Again England looked short of ideas and could have gone behind early on when Benjamin Sesko had a free header from inside the box. His effort lacked power and direction and was easily collected by keeper Jordan Pickford.
Bukayo Saka had a first-half goal ruled out for offside and Palmer came close late on, but England rarely looked like finding a winner.
England was a beaten finalist at the last Euros when it lost a penalty shootout to Italy and has not won a major tournament since its only triumph — the World Cup in 1966.
This was Slovenia’s first appearance at a Euros for 24 years and only the second time it had qualified for the tournament.