While England and France, the ‘champion candidates’ of the 2024 European Football Championship (Euro 2024), drew again, Austria defeated the Netherlands and secured a place in the round of 16 by taking first place in the group.
The England national team, led by manager Gareth Southgate, drew with Slovenia without a goal in the final Group C match of the Euro 2024 group stage held at the Stadion Cologne in Cologne, Germany on June 25, 2024.
England, who recorded 74% of the ball, went on the offensive with 12 shots, 8 more than the opponent, but was unable to open Slovenia’s goal.
England, who drew 1-1 in the second game with Denmark, recorded two consecutive draws and finished the group stage with one win and two draws.
England, a ‘luxury team’ with many players playing in the English Premier League (EPL) and other big leagues, was unable to secure a refreshing victory in the last game of the group stage and hung its head.
While criticism was pouring in from the domestic media about the team’s poor performance, they were unable to create a refreshing scene in today’s game, which failed to turn around public opinion.
England tops group, round of 16
England, who accumulated 5 points, advanced to the round of 16 as first place in the group, beating Denmark and Slovenia (3 points), who had drawn three games in a row.
In this Euro, the first and second place teams from six groups will advance to the round of 16, and the top four teams among the third place teams will also advance to the round of 16.
Among Denmark and Slovenia, who were unable to determine superiority in terms of points, opponent record, goal difference, most goals, total goal difference, most goals, and fair play points according to the number of warnings, Denmark, which had a better preliminary record, took second place in the group. .
France, which was evaluated as a contender for the title due to its strong performance along with England, also drew 1-1 with Poland in the final match of Group D, drawing only two games in a row.
France, who took the lead in the 11th minute of the second half thanks to a penalty kick scored by Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), lost the victory by conceding a penalty kick goal to Poland’s star Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) in the 34th minute of the second half.
Mbappe, who fractured his nose in the game against Austria, walked the field wearing a black mask that day and even scored, but was unable to give the team three points.
Austria defeats Netherlands 3-2 – beats France and takes first place in Group D
Poland, bottom of Group D, which was confirmed to be eliminated from the competition early on, had to be satisfied with the last goal scored by its national soccer hero Lewandowski.
France also drew without a goal in the second game with the Netherlands.
France, which has played three group stage games, has yet to score a field goal.
In the first game against Austria, the score was 1-0 thanks to an own goal.
Austria was the team that took first place in the group after dragging France (5 points), the favorite to win the title, down to second place in the group with one win and two draws.
This is because Austria (2 wins, 1 loss) defeated the Netherlands 3-2 that day, raising its winning point to 6.
Austria, who took the lead through an own goal by Doniel Malen (Dortmund) 6 minutes into the game, allowed Cody Hakpo (Liverpool) to equalize in the 2nd minute of the second half, but ran away with a goal by Romano Schmidt 12 minutes later.
Netherlands’ Memphis Depay (independent) tied the score again in the 30th minute of the second half, but five minutes later, Marcel Sabitzer (Dortmund) scored the winning goal, putting an end to the fierce match.
The powerful Netherlands (1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss, 4 points), ranked 7th in the FIFA rankings, suffered its first loss of the tournament and fell to 3rd place in the group, but secured a ticket to the round of 16. Among the 3rd place teams in the 6 groups, they currently have the highest points.
England suffers from bullying from their own fans and media
England, a ‘luxury team’ that participated in the 2024 European Football Championship (Euro 2024), is suffering from all-round criticism from its fans, media, and soccer people due to a series of poor performances.
England, led by manager Gareth Southgate, drew 0-0 with Slovenia in the final Group C match of the Euro 2024 group stage held at the Stadion Cologne in Cologne, Germany on the 25th (local time).
The difference in power between the two teams is large.
England, ranked 5th in the FIFA rankings, is home to many world-class players.
Special striker Harry Kane, who plays for Bayern Munich, a famous German soccer team, Jude Bellingham, the main player in Real Madrid (Spain)’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) victory, and English Premier League (EPL) ‘Player of the Year’ Phil Foden (Manchester) There are many star players with good offensive ability, such as City).
The weight of Kyle Walker and John Stones (Manchester City) at the back is also at a high level.
Slovenia is ranked 57 in FIFA rankings
On the other hand, Slovenia is 57th in the FIFA rankings.
Aside from veteran goalkeeper Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid), there were no stars to speak of, but they did not give England a win.
The BBC reported that plastic cups were thrown towards England coach Southgate, who was booed for his poor performance that day.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Southgate understands why fans are upset with recent performances and results.
He showed a resolute attitude that it was better for the fans to react that way than for the players to react that way to me.
However, “this situation is creating an unusual environment.”
“I have never seen a team react like this even after passing the group stage,” he said, expressing his dissatisfaction.
England also drew 1-1 in the second match with Denmark, ranked 21st in the FIFA rankings.
2 goals in 3 games in England
England, who defeated 32nd-ranked Serbia 1-0 in the first game, accumulated 5 points with 1 win and 2 draws and advanced to the round of 16 as first place in Group C.
However, the fans and media of ‘Football’s Last Price’ want cool performances to match the spectacular lineup.
England scored only two goals in three group stage games.
Compared to the top teams in each group who showed off their scoring power in the group stage, such as the host country Germany (8 goals), Austria (6 goals), and Spain (5 goals), England’s ’empty ball’ stands out.
The people who are at the forefront of criticizing England’s disappointing performance are the ‘seniors’ of the national team.
Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer, who played for the England national team, are active as football commentators after retirement.
Sharp evaluations are also being made on the performance of juniors competing in Euro 2024.
England’s captain Kane expressed his discomfort over these criticisms from his seniors.
Immediately after the second game against Denmark, Kane said, “I know I can speak honestly as a critic,” but “as a former national team player who is respected by people, everyone must take responsibility.”
He added, “Everyone knows how difficult it is to compete in major international competitions.”
In response, Lineker appeared on a podcast and said, “Like almost all journalists, we were critical of England’s performance. Kane is right, but we want England to perform well. The best thing is for England to perform well.” “It’s about playing a good game,” he said.
Shearer said: “If England’s performance was terrible, we should say that. If it had been great, we would have said ‘England were excellent’.”
