England are playing again tonight. That’s a sentence which evokes all kinds of reactions and emotions, from excitement and anticipation, to nervous apprehension, all the way to a potent cocktail of vitriol and downright disdain. It really depends on who you’re asking.
Their last game, a pretty dire 1-1 draw with a Denmark side who were quite frankly horrendous at the 2022 World Cup, is now just a memory and, ultimately, one with a happy ending; after Croatia’s heartbreaking draw with Italy last night, England have officially qualified for the knockout stages.
That means that the pressure on Gareth Southgate and the squad has diminished considerably. Tonight’s fixture against Slovenia isn’t exactly a formality – top spot is still the target and very much up for grabs, of course – but it’s not a do or die situation.
And after the reactions, spanning the negative to almost apocalyptic, after the Denmark result, that’s exactly what England need.
Maybe that means we’ll see a side which can relax a little and play without the proverbial tonne of pressure which typically mounts their shoulders, which can only be a good thing; England almost seemed paralysed into sitting behind the ball for the entirety of the game after scoring first last week. Tonight, they can play with some freedom.
That’s certainly what we’ll want to see, too. This European Championship has been almost identical to all the other major tournaments Southgate has helmed thus far: win the opening game, draw the second, take a boatload of criticism for a poor performance, qualify for the knockout stages anyway, and go from there.
Those previous tournaments didn’t work out too badly, either; a semifinal, a runners-up medal and a quarterfinal don’t exactly make for a terrible track record.
But that’s not the issue here; the issue is that England should, with the amount of talent in the squad, be playing better, not just going far in tournaments at the expense of the quality of football on display.
No doubt, then, that tonight there has to be a reaction. Word on the street is that Conor Gallagher will come in to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield, so that’s at least an indication that Southgate has viewed the Denmark performance as a catalyst for improvement, or at least change.
Whether that will be enough remains to be seen, though. The barometer of their achievement against Slovenia this evening won’t necessarily be the result, but how England get there.
That leads us to a whole host of questions: how will Phil Foden perform and where will he play? Will Harry Kane push further forward? Will the team as a whole take control of the game instead of letting it come to them? Those are all questions that won’t be answered until tonight, but the answer to them, again, is probably more intriguing than what happens on the scoreline.
Make no mistake about it: England should beat Slovenia. However, Matjaž Kek’s side have been a much more robust and competent outfit than many might have predicted, holding both Denmark and Serbia to 1-1 draws. In fact, if they repeat that feat tonight, they could also qualify for the round of 16 for the first time ever. They are not playing for no reason: this could be the biggest night in the history of Slovenian football. That said, this is the perfect opportunity for Gareth Southgate’s side to make a big statement.
We shouldn’t forget that England are joint favourites to win the trophy altogether, but performances thus far have not been a promising indication that that could happen. Tonight, we need to see that change, and it’s up to Southgate and the squad to react and make it happen.
You can follow live coverage of the England v Slovenia buildup and the match itself via our live blog.