COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) -Reaction after England drew 0-0 with Slovenia in their Euro 2024 Group C match on Tuesday:
England manager Gareth Southgate: “I thought we were much improved with the ball. We have created some good openings and at the moment it is hard work for us. We are not quite getting that break in front of goal. I think the players who came on did well. I understand the reactions but it is a tough environment.
“We tried to win the game by the changes we made. We put attacking players on the pitch.
“He (Cole Palmer) did very good. He finds space well and he makes chances and we were backing him to score at the end. They are young players and we are blooding them in a difficult environment. They had a good impact for us and did good things for us. Anthony Gordon, Cole Palmer, Kobbie Mainoo, it was a really good move. We have to build on that. There were a lot of things to build on from tonight.
On cups being thrown towards him by England fans: “I understand the sort of narrative toward me and if 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 but I’m very, very proud of the players for how they’re operating within it.”
England captain Harry Kane: “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 games. We couldn’t just find that finish but we look forward to the next one.
“We created some half chances and there were some that we could maybe have done better.
“I think the boys who came on did really well and kept the energy high and that’s what we need. We need everyone chipping in and that’s what we are doing so far.
“These games are tough. We have been here before and stepped it up in the past when we have got to the knockouts. All games in this tournament are tough. It is going to be a difficult challenge ahead and we have enough ability to keep pushing.”
England defender John Stones: “The objective was to top the group and we have done that — it is not always going to be an easy road. It is not going to be easy when we have a target on our back to beat us.
“I thought there was a lot of improvement from the other two games, we found people in the pockets and created more chances — another step in the right direction.
“I can get the fans’ frustration, not taking chances, but that is football — it is never an easy game.
“One hundred percent they (substitutes) made a great impact today and credit to them. It is not easy coming away and not getting as much game-time as they want — it’s a great spirit around us.
“We focus on us and what we can control.
“I am a big believer in beating whoever is in front of us. We need to step up when it counts and we will work hard on that in training.”
England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford: “The job is done, finish top of your group.
“No game is easy and we are going to come under criticism – we have to deal with that. We have finished top of the group and we have not played our best.
“Tonight we showed more quality with the ball, we kept them pinned in and we defended really well — there is still more to come.
“We have got to keep a positive mindset and bring the positives. We know we weren’t perfect but we didn’t get beat in three games.”
Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek: “We’re placed third because of yellow cards but we’ve shown with our play that we deserved to be in the elimination phase. We’ve played one of the so-called favourites. We were under pressure in the game but this small Slovenian team was expected to suffer against a high-quality England.
“We had our fans behind us but we had a lot of pressure from England.
“I emphasise again the mental fortitude of this young team for the first time at such a big tournament. They have shown their true colours. You have to understand English players play every three to four days but many of our players don’t play those high-stakes games.
“When we had the draw I said Slovenia will play a part and I’m very proud of this team.”
(Reporting by Christian Radnedge; editing by Clare Fallon)
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