England v Slovenia

Ninety minutes of my life, I will never get back.

Though there were some opportunities, they were few and far between again. However, it seemed more impressionable when Southgate finally made some changes and put on Cole Palmer, Trent’s Alexander-Arnold and Antony Gordon. The game changed entirely. Hopefully, Southgate will change the starting 11, reflecting the sub's performances compared to those of Foden and Saka; hoping we play with more passion and drive to score.

Though fans are complaining, it must be known that in the group stage in 2020, the Euros scored only two goals like this time around. However, that was two wins and one draw. This time around, it was one win, two draws; if England were in any other group, they would likely not qualify for the round of 16, especially if they did not win the group. For example, Ukraine did not qualify even with 4 points out of the group, one point off England and France. France, who had not scored from open play, only achieved a penalty by Mbappe and an own goal. Their own goal is the highest scorer in the tournament so far.

There was first-half joy taken from England due to Saka's offside goal when a calculated pass ended up at Saka's feet and in the back of the net. One would think that the goal being offside would drive the players. They had a glimpse of the joys and thrill, and they would push themselves to the end of the earth to score, but that did not prevail. The fans showed the team their disgust for this abysmal start to the tournament, coming in as favourites but just one of the group. The boos from the England fans echoed throughout the stadium, and angry fans threw empty drink cups aimed at Southgate was in a rage. 

Southgate's giving in to the fans and placing Conor Gallagher instead of TAA was still met with anger and frustration from the fans. After his inclusion, Kobbie Mainoo made his major tournament debut, creating urgency and energy, which England lacked in the attractive half, complimenting Rices’ defensive midfield style.

Many creative players on the bench, like Cole Palmer and Antony Gordon, have respectfully won Player of the Year as their club. Southgate was too late in these changes and did not give them enough time to achieve goals, although shots were taken, which is more that can be said for those in the starting 11.

I wonder if Foden can play without Pep Guardiola in his ear in this game. We saw some of the sparks; however, he has had to go back to the UK temporarily for the birth of his third child, though it has been said he will be back in time for England's round of 16 game on Sunday, I would think due to the lack of training leading up to the game he will not start which hopefully will give the likes of Gordon and Palmer time to prove their place is in the line up from the get-go.

Though England's statistics were good, with 74% of possession, the Slovenia keeper was conformable and untested with a smart late save from substitute Cole's low shot. Mainoo brought energy and injected life back into this passing teaming, and it is likely to be centre stage in the next round unless the system is changed due to the player end being unavailable.

When the squad was announced, it was suggested that Luke Shaw could be ready for the Denmark game. He was not. The next game came and went, and no sign of him was still there. It makes you wonder if the risk of taking an unfit player is not playing off for Southgate. The risk of only bringing one left-footer left-back was a poor one, as he has only just been available on the bench and has yet to complete first-team training, let alone play any minutes fully, and if England plays the way they are, it is unlikely he will touch a ball.

Though every fan can do better than Southgate suggesting different lineup ups, more specifically upfront, no one will be happy with whoever Southgate chooses based on current performances.

The players to watch at the beginning of the season, like Jude Bellingham after his faultless debut at Real Madrid, seemed invisible after he scored the winning goal against Serbia in the first game.