Match report
The post mortems on this match will be interesting
England dominated Slovakia throughout, to such an extent that I can’t actually remember any Slovakian player having a touch in the England penalty area. It seems inconceivable, but I suspect it could be the case.
For all their dominance, England were toothless up front and created few clear-cut chances, a state of affairs that wasn’t helped by the woeful quality of their deliveries from the flanks, whether they were from corners or open play.
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Full-time: Slovakia 0-0 England
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeep! It’s all over and England have failed to break the deadlock despite their dominance. Following Wales’s 3-0 win over Russia in Toulouse, England have to settle for second place in Group B. They’ll almost certainly play Hungary, Iceland or Portugal in the next round.
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90+5 min: England move forward again, but Nathaniel Clyne’s cross from deep is far too near the goalkeeper. The quality of England’s deliveries in this game, from open play and corners, has been garbage.
90+4 min: We’re in the penultimate minute of added time.
90+3 min: Wales have beaten Russia in Toulouse. England need a goal here to win the group. Slovakia have a goal-kick after Dele Alli sent a long-range effort sailing high over the bar.
90+2 min: More England faff on the edge of the Slovakia penalty area, before Dier is teed up and has his shot charged down. Some desperate but effective defending from Slovakia here.
90+1 min: Pekarik dispossesses Rooney in the Slovak penalty area and gallops away down the pitch on the counter-attack, only to concede a free-kick and gift possession back to England.
89 min: As things stand, Wales will top the group and England will finish second. It’s far from a disaster, as they’ll face Hungary, Iceland or Portugal in the next round in Nice. I wouldn’t imagine anyone would have had any grumbles if that had been offered to them 90 minutes ago. France could await in the quarter-finals if they manage to beat Hungary, Iceland or Portugal.
88 min: From another corner, Harry Kane heads wide from close range after being teed up by Gary Cahill.
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86 min: England win another corner after good work from Henderson. Rooney’s delivery is decent: flat and towards the far post, like a Rory Delap throw-in. Martin Skrtel heads clear.
85 min: Robert Mak goes down injured and play is interrupted so he can receive treatment. Free-kick for Slovakia. Marek Hamsik tries to beat Joe Hart with an audacious effort from distance, but doesn’t trouble the England goalkeeper.
84 min: Rooney tries a shot from distance, burt pulls it wide.
82 min: There’s a scramble on the edge of the Slovakia penalty area, with assorted England players attempting shots in quick succession. Rooney and Ali see theirs blocked, while Dier’s is put out for a corner. England prove as inept at playing corners short as they are at playing them long and Hamsik tidies up for Slovakia.
80 min: Marek Hamsik, whose name has appeared with alarming infrequency in this minute-by-minute report is now playing as what passes for Slovakia’s striker, but at the moment they have 11 men behind the ball as England continue to turn the screw.
78 min: Slovakia substitution: Vladimir Weiss off, Milan Skriniar on. By my count, Slovakia are now playing with four full-backs and three centre-halves on the pitch. I think it’s safe to say they’ll settle for the draw and the four points that ought to see them through as one of the best third place finishers.
76 min: Ryan Bertrand sends in the corner, which Gary Cahill gets a head to. He sends a looping header into the air, but Kane is unable to beat Slovakia goalkeeper Matus Kozacik to the dropping ball.
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75 min: England substitution: Daniel Sturridge off, Harry Kane on. England have a corner.
74 min: The energy bars appears to do the trick. From a standing start, without any run-up, Dier scoops a pitches a delightful free-kick into the Slovakia penalty area., Sturridge sprints between two defenders and stretches, but is unable to make the firm contact that would almost certainly have resulted in an opening goal.
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73 min: Ray Lewington gets energy bars on to the pitch and Daniel Sturridge and Eric Dier devour them hungrily. Looks like Dier might just have got what cyclists call the “bonk” or “hunger knock”.
70 min: Play is stopped so Eric Dier can receive treatment for some unspecified injury. It looks to me like it might be cramp. On the touchline, Harry Kane is readying himself to make an appearance.
69 min: More pressure from England, but Slovakia continue to hold firm. Ryan Bertrand does well to get a cross in from the byline under pressure, but when the ball eventually drops for Eric Dier on the edge of the penalty area, his thunderbolt is blocked down. As things stand, Wales will top the group, while England will qualify in second place.
67 min: Eric Dier sends a curling cross-shot swooshing across the Slovakia penalty area, that only narrowly evades the head of the incoming Rooney. Elsewhere in Group B, it’s Russia 0-3 Wales.
66 min: Slovakia substitution: Viktor Pecovsky off, Norbert Gyomber on.
63 min: England continue to press, without scoring. Slovakia’s defensive line are providing stout resistance on the edge of their own penalty area.
61 min: Sturridge and Henderson combine down the right, with the latter hooking the ball across the face of goal to Dele Alli on the edge of the six-yard box. With his first touch, the substitute does well to send a diagonal volley goalwards, forcing Martin Skrtel to clear off the line.
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59 min: In acres of space down the right, Jordan Henderson runs on to a pass from Adam Lallana and massively overhits a cross that goes out of play on the other side of the field. England substitution: Adam Lallana off, Dele Alli on.
58 min: England substiutution: Wayne Rooney on for Jack Wilshere. Slovakia substitution: Dusan Svento, a left-back, on for striker Onores Duda. Weiss moves up front and Svento takes over on the left wing. Other housekeeping: Ryan Bertrand got booked for conceding that free-kick I mentioned in the 52nd minute for a foul on Peter Pekarik.
56 min: VLadimir Weiss finds himself in space in England’s penalty area, dithers over his shot and eventually shoots tamely towards the bottom left-hand corner. Hart saves comfortably.
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54 min: Clyne is played in by Sturridge and shoots from a narrow angle. His effort is saved and put out for a corner, but nothing comes of it.
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53 min: Chris Smalling and Joe Hart get their wires crossed. Chris Smalling attempted to chest a cross towards Hart but sold his goalkeeper short, allowing Robert Mak to nip in and try to turn it home. Luckily for England’s hapless duo, he’s unable to steer the ball past Hart.
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52 min: Slovakia win a free-kick wide on the right, on the edge of the final third. The ball’s curled into the penalty area, where Hart fists it out for a throw-in on the other side.
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51 min: Hart gets a rare touch as England pass the ball backwards until it reaches their goalkeeper, who sends it up the field again.
49 min: Clyne cuts in from the right and runs into space on the edge of the Slovakia penalty area. He attempts to pick out Lallana, but his pass is intercepted.
48 min: Lallana wins a throw-in off Vladimir Weiss deep in Slovakia territory. Nothing comes of it and Slovakia regain possession and work their way up the park. They’re passing is pretty laboured.
47 min: Slovakia win a couple of throw-ins on the right side of the pitch and get forward, but Ryan Bertrand clears up at the back for England and clears the ball.
Second half: Slovakia 0-0 England
Play resumes, with Slovakia kicking off and England’s supporters roaring out a rendition of God Save Our Queen. There are no changes in personnel on either side.
More on Joe Hart ...
“Joe Hart is an ‘eye of the beholder player’,” writes Robert Lowery. “Cited by many UK commentators as among the best but from the outside he seems error prone though not without talent. England’s own Richard Dunne , if you will. To me he looks, speaks and carries himself like those forgettable, interchangeable back-row forwards that spend a few years running around Twickenham before being replaced by another nondescript, good but not great blonde haired, blue eyed, double-barreler - right down to the off field japes and urgings in the tunnel.”
Hats off to Neil Taylor ...
He’s scored Wales’s second goal against Russia, having last scored for Wrexham in front of less than 300 people against Gray’s Athletic in the Blue Square Premier League in April 2010.
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Half-time: Slovakia 0-0 England
The Spanish referee blows for half-time in a match that England have completely dominated, but failed to score in. Jamie Vardy and Adam Lallana have had the pick of the chances, but the deadlock remains unbroken. Elsewhere, Wales lead Russia 2-0, which means that if things stay the same, Wales will top the group and England will finish second.
45+1 min: Slovakia go on a rare sortie into England territory, but Jamie Vardy is back to put a stop to their gallop with a meaty challenge.
44 min: Nathaniel Clyne gets the better of Weiss down the right flank once again, before sending in another cross. Jamie Vardy gets his head to it, but is unable to control the high ball, which breaks for Bertrand. He sends the ball back into the penalty area, where Henderson’s volley is blocked.
42 min: Juraj Kucka is lucky to avoid a yellow card after throwing himself in front of Jamie Vardy as the England striker attempted to give him the slip. Possession stats: England 66%-34% Slovakia.
41 min: Ryan Bertrand crosses somewhat casually from the left and Jan Duica clears from Slovakia. Bertrand looked to be just “getting the ball in the mixer” there, rather than targeting a particular player’s head.
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40 min: Henderson sends in the cross from the quadrant and the ball is cleared.
39 min: Dier picks out Sturridge with a fine cross-field ball and the England striker’s first touch inside the penalty area is good. Tomas Hubocan puts the ball out for a corner.
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37 min: Lots of huff and puff from England, but they’ve yet to blow the Slovak house down. They’ve had a couple of shots on goal that were too near the goalkeeper, while the quality of some of their deliveries, including corners, has been risible.
34 min: From the left flank, Lallana picks out Wilshere on the edge of the penalty area. His first touch is too heavy and allows Slovakia’s defence to clear. England are all over Slovakia here, but just can’t score.
34 min: England win a corner, but nothing comes of it.
33 min: Not for the first time, Nathaniel Clyne gets in behind Vladimir Weiss, before picking out Adam Lallana just inside the Slovak penalty area. He shoots on the fly, but Matus Kozacik saves smartly.
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32 min: Adam Lallana plays a sideways pass to Daniel Sturridge a few yards outside the Slovakia penalty area, but his shot from distance is blocked.
29 min: Henderson sends a through-ball to the byline, which Nathaniel Clyne does superbly to hook back into the penalty area. His pull-back fails to find its way to anyone in an England shirt and Slovakia clear their lines.
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27 min: England win a corner, which Jordan Henderson sends towards the near post. It fails to beat the first man, who is Marek Hamsik. He heads clear.
26 min: Not for the first time in recent minutes, REyan Bertrand is lucky to avoid a booking, this time for an ill-judged lunge on Pekarik ... who might be starting to take this minor assaults personally.
25 min: The free-kick’s floated into the Slovakia penalty area, where goalkeeepr Kozacik takes possession of the football on his second attempt.
23 min: Pekarik returns to action with half a box of Kleenex shoved up each nostril and a clean, bloodstain-free shirt on his back. Vikto Pecovsky gets a yellow card for what you’d call a “tactical foul”, bringing down Jamie Vardy as he sprinted upfield on a counter-attack. Free-kick for England, approximately 40 yards from the Slovakia goal.
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22 min: Slovakia and Hertha Berlin right-back Pekarik continues to receive treatment for his bloodied nose on the sideline, so his team are playing with 10 men at the moment. Caqhill is back in England’s defence, showing no obvious affects of serious malaise.
20 min: As Pekarik receives treatment on the sideline for a busted nose, Gary Cahill goes off for treatment on a back complaint. Elsewhere it’s Russia 0-2 Wales.
19 min: Ryan Bertrand catches Peter Pekarik with a mid-air forearm smash as the pair contest a high ball. The Slovakia right-back goes down with blood pouring from a head wound. I’m not sure if it’s his nose or mouth that’s cut, but he is gushing claret.
17 min: Chance! Jamie Vardy is played in behind the Slovakian defence with Martin Skrtel in hot pursuit. There’s only going to be one winner of that race and it takes a good save from Matus Kozacik to prevent the Leicester City striker from opening the scoring.
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17 min: Nothing comes from the corner, as Slovakia clear.
16 min: Jordan Henderson finds himself in acres of space on the right side of the Slovakian penalty area, shoots towards goal and wins his team a corner as the ball is put out for a corner.
14 min: Marek Hamsik curls a cross around Gary Cahill from the space between the left side of the England penalty area and the touchline. It hovers menacingly above Joe Hart before bouncing wide of the right upright.
13 min: Jamie Vardy tees up Adam Lallana for a shot from the edge of the penalty area. His low drive is well wide of the right upright. England’s passing in the build-up play to that chance was pretty impressive.
11 min: Elsewhere it’s Russia 0-1 Wales, with Aaron Ramsey having scored for Chris Coleman’s men. As things stand, the Welsh would top Group B with England finishing second.
9 min: A Jack Wilshere cross takes a deflection and loops in from the right, beating two Slovakia defenders with its bounce and allowing Jamioe Vardy to flick a header backwards from the edge of the penalty area. Peter Pekarik does well to prevent Sturridge getting a shot on goal from about six yards out.
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8 min: Marek Hamsik plays a wonderful pass towards the head of Robert Mak, who’d cut into the England penalty area from the right. The Slovakia winger leaps to try and take the ball down, but is crowded out by Cahill and Chris Smalling.
7 min: Slovakia midfielder Viktor Pecovsky tries his luck from distance, but his effort sails high over Joe Hart’s crossbar.
6 min: Nathaniel Clyne drives forward down the right before powering in a cross. Jamie Vardy tries to divert a diagonal effort goalwards with his knee from the edge of the six-yard box, but his effort goes over the bar. Good play from England.
5 min: Jordan Henderson appears to have been tasked with doing something of a man-marking job on Marek Hamsik. He’s all over the Slovakian playmaker like a cheap suit as the ball’s played to the Slovakian.
4 min: Nathaniel Clyne and Eric Dier get early touches, with the former picking out the latter, who hoofs it forward.
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3 min: England enjoy a spell of possession in the middle third, with Jordan Henderson, Jack Wilshere and Gary Cahill swishing the ball about between themselves. It’s played out to Ryan Bertrand on the left flank and his cross to the Slovakia penalty area is cleared.
2 min: Adam Lallana concedes an early free-kick for obstructing Slovakia right-back Peter Pekarik. Slovakia immediately cede possession with a poorly judged free-kick.
Slovakia v England has begun in St Etienne ...
1 min: England get the ball rolling, playing from right to left as the camera gazes out on to the pitch. Slovakia’s goalkeeper Matus Kozacik gets an early touch, retrieving the ball for a goal kick.
Not long now ...
The teams are in the tunnel, with Gary Cahill leading out the England players and Martin Skrtel wearing the armband for Slovakia. They’re players wear white shirts with blue trim, white shorts and white socks. England’s wear red shirts, red shorts and blue socks.
More on Roy's changes ...
“Not entirely sure Roy has thought this through with the wholesale changes,” writes Dave Adams. “He somehow seems to have tried a huge number of variations of setup and personnel, each of which take him further away from knowing his best side. He’ll end tonight with more questions than answers, undoubtedly.”
I think it’s abundantly clear that if England lose, or even fail to win, this evening, Hodgson will get hammered by those carping with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight. And perhaps he’ll deserve it. But as the man said himself, the benefit of 20-20 hindsight is something he doesn’t have.
Joe Cross is a little bit cross ...
“Harsh words,” he says of my criticism of Joe Hart. “Am I alone in putting Joe Hart in the top three keepers in the Premier League? He should have done better with Bale’s free kick but, similar to our problems at centre back, we’re light on top quality cover at goalkeeper and it’s a position where stability (and the confidence which comes with regular selection) helps. That said, if he throws one in today he can make his own way home!”
Players not rested ...
“Changing a winning team (if that’s what England are at this tournament) can be a good idea if you pick the right time to do it,” writes Alasdair Thomson. “But if you are going to change a winning team, you should surely start with the members of that team who are getting it wrong. In light of that, after his failure to save Bale’s free kick from 35 yards and his ill-judged sortie at the end of the Russia game, why hasn’t Joe Hart been given a rest?”
I couldn’t agree more, Alasdair. I was astonished that Joe wasn’t among the six players “rested” (drop-kicked out of the team for the rest of the tournament) after his performances thus far. He’s an accident waiting to happen in my humble opinion and, as you say, has already let in two soft ones in two games in this tournament. Maybe Roy thinks he needs the extra practice.
Roy Hodgson speaks ...
Asked by ITV’s reporter if he thinks making six changes is a gamble: “No I don’t think so,” he says. “We’ve got a strong squad of players and it’s important that we believe in these players. I think it’s important that when we have a chance to rest key players, it’s important that we do it. We’re replacing Wayne and Dele Alli with Jordan Henderson and Jack Wilshere ... with hindsight, people will make decisions. But I don’t go on hindsight, I make decisions on what I think is important for the squad. I fully believe they can deliver and I don’t think it’s a risk. It’s a sign of what the strength we have in the squad.”
Sturridge on the left wing?
The word on the streets of St Etienne - and if you play Only Love Can Break Your Heart, by the indie dance band that shares its name with the French city, backwards - is that Daniel Sturridge wil;l start on the left of a three-pronged attack for England. Make of that what you will. I suppose he has to start somewhere.
Slovakia v England line-ups
Slovakia: Kozacik, Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Hubocan, Kucka, Pecovsky, Hamsik, Mak, Duda, Weiss.
Subs: Mucha, Gyomber, Gregus, Sestak, Stoch, Nemec, Hrosovsky, Skriniar, Salata, Svento, Duris, Novota.
England: Hart, Clyne, Cahill, Smalling, Bertrand, Henderson,
Dier, Wilshere, Lallana, Vardy, Sturridge.
Subs: Forster, Walker, Rose, Milner, Sterling, Kane, Rooney, Stones, Barkley, Alli, Rashford, Heaton.
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)
Six England changes, as expected
England starting line-up to face Slovakia: Hart, Clyne, Cahill (c), Smalling, Bertrand, Dier, Henderson, Wilshere, Lallana, Vardy, Sturridge.
England's progress so far
Despite bossing Russia throughout their opening Group B fixture at the Stade Velodrome, England were forced to settle for a point after going down to a late Vasili Berezutski sucker-punch.
They left it late themselves in the following match against Wales, with Daniel Sturridge scoring a late, late winner for Roy Hodgson’s men when a draw against Wales looked on the cards.
Slovakia's progress so far ...
Ján Kozák’s side began their Euro 2016 campaign with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Wales, before Marek Hamsik gave a virtuoso performance to help get their show back on the road with victory over Russia by an identical score.
England manager Roy Hodgson speaks
“The players are in good shape,” said Hodgson of his charges. “It wouldn’t be a problem if I wanted to keep the same side, but there are players who would like to play and have been knocking on the door. Jamie [Vardy] and Daniel [Sturridge] did very well when they came on and would like another chance. We have options in those front positions. It’s a decision that has to be made.
“There are lots in the Slovakia team who we have to watch out for. The front line, with [Marek] Hamsik, [Ondrej] Duda and [Vladimír] Weiss are good attacking players. All we can do is hope our performance on the night is good enough to beat them.
“My contract runs out after this tournament. Everyone knows that. On a regular basis the subject gets brought up: should I stay? Do I want to stay? What should the FA do? We’re only concentrating on winning the next game to see how far we can go, whether that’s the last 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals or final.”
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Slovakia manager Ján Kozák speaks
“I am going to make some changes to the team again, because the game demands it,” said Slovakia’s coach in his pre-match press conference. “England will be a different proposition from Russia – I know that very well. They play a different way, so we have to do something to prepare for that. To be honest, we do not have a strong enough team to play an open game against a team like England. We have to focus on our style if we want to be successful.
“We have tried to prepare as well as we possibly can and we’re looking forward to it. As for England’s attack, we might say one thing, then something entirely different could happen on the day. We need to show respect to our opponent, but we also carry a threat ourselves.
“Every match is tough at a tournament like this. Everyone plays to the best of their ability, each team has its own strengths. England are a team of real pedigree.”
Good evening sports fans ....
Roy Hodgson is expected to make six changes for a match England need to win to guarantee themselves top spot in Group B and a match against one of the third-placed finishers in the first round of the knockout stages. A point will guarantee progress to the next round, while defeat could lead to a third-place finish and a possible - but extremely unlikely - exit or the far more likely scenario of a last 16 match against Germany or Spain. You can read more about that here, although it may make your brain hurt.
Monday’s papers brought the news that Wayne Rooney is likely to be rested for tonight’s match against Slovakia. Depending on your point of view, the England skipper has been (a) excellent, (b) good, (c) reasonably decent in the face of mediocre opposition or (d) monotonously predictable and a bit “meh” in midfield for England’s opening two games, but is likely to be replaced by Jordan Henderson this evening. Jack Wilshere will also start tonight’s game, coming in for Dele Alli.
Behind them, Hodgson is expected to rotate his full-backs, giving Kyle Walker and Danny Rose the evening off, with Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Bertrand expected to provide more than able deputies. Up front, Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge will team up once again, with Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling likely to sit this one out too. Kane has looked fatigued and ineffectual after a long season with Spurs, while Sterling has just looked ineffectual and seems unlikely to start another match in this tournament following some less than stellar displays.
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