All of which means that England have six wins from six matches in Group E and stand nine points clear of Slovenia, their closest rivals. They made a bit of a meal of this one and the best sides will definitely not be worried about playing them but they got there in the end thanks to two stunning goals from Jack Wilshere and Wayne Rooney’s winner, and they’ve now gone on an entire season unbeaten for the first time in 24 years. Hooray! Thanks for reading and emailing. Bye.
Full-time: Slovenia 2-3 England
That’s your lot! Good old England. “What a finish to the match, and to Andy’s ITV commentating career,” says Simon McMahon. “If anything, Slovenia played almost too well.”
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90 min+2: Kampl picks up a booking for dissent.
90 min+3: There will be three minutes of stoppage time.
89 min: My mistake. Apologies to Ilic. It wasn’t a heavy challenge from him, Sterling actually jarred his knee badly as he chased the Slovenia defender. Fortunately he gets to his feet after a while, a little gingerly, and limps away. That could have been much worse.
88 min: Raheem Sterling is down after a heavy challenge from Ilic, who must be a Liverpool fan.
GOAL!!! Slovenia 2-3 England (Rooney, 86 min)
This is absurd! Theo Walcott slides a ball through to Rooney from the middle and the Slovenia defence falls to pieces. They’re all over the place! Where are the defenders? Where have they gone? They’re nowhere to be seen and Rooney gives Handanovic the eyes, sends him one way and shapes a low right-footer into the bottom-right corner! England are back in front and Rooney now has as many goals for England as Gary Lineker. He’s one behind Sir Bobby Charlton.
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85 min: England bring on Nathaniel Clyne for Fabian Delph. Henderson moves back into the middle.
GOAL!!! Slovenia 2-2 England (Pecnik, 84 min)
England’s lead didn’t last long. Kampl knocks a pass down the left to Jokic. His cross to the far post is brilliant and Pecnik powers above Kieran Gibbs and thuds an unstoppable downward header to Hart’s left and into the bottom corner!
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83 min: Slovenia have stirred. They’re pushing for an equaliser.
79 min: Lazarevic replaces Kurtic.
77 min: Cesar is very to still be on the pitch. He catches Rooney in the face with an elbow, but although a free-kick is awarded, the Slovenia captain isn’t even booked. That was a ridiculous challenge.
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74 min: Theo Walcott replaces Andros Townsend.
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WHAT A GOAL!!!! Slovenia 1-2 England (Wilshere, 73 min)
The first one was good. The second one is special. This is a spectacular goal from Jack Wilshere and England have come back from a goal down to lead. A backheel from Adam Lallana sparked the move and Wilshere took the ball in his stride, moved forward a couple of yards - in the words of Andy Townsend, he was in and around the edge - and Slovenia backed off. The ball was bobbling a tad but Wilshere laced it with his left foot from 25 yards and it flew at a ferocious pace into that same top-right corner! Handanovic didn’t move an inch. You know what they say about England goals. You wait 28 games for your first one and then two come along like some big red mode of public transport.
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72 min: Slovenia bring on Pecnik for Kirm.
70 min: The sun goes up, the sun goes down, the sun goes up, the sun goes down, Andros shoots, the ball goes wide.
69 min: Sterling heads the ball down for Lallana in the area. He takes the ball down on his chest, but his hurried shot is harmless. “I didn’t agree with much of the thinking behind the article about Andy Townsend being better than most people would have you believe,” says Adnan Syed. “But catch him on his day on ITV2 or 4 during an early Europa League game when his audience is small and there is no cause for Come on England platitudes and analysis fed through a jingoistic gut, and he shows actual knowledge of European football and footballers. Give him a game where Rooney is chasing goalscoring records and the Premier League Ltd are in town, and he is pretty terrible as a broadcaster.”
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66 min: Brecko drifts a cross into the area from the right. Novakovic is the wrong side of Henderson but he can’t reach the ball at the far post.
63 min: Is this Andy Townsend’s leaving present? The ITV feed dies for a few moments and is replaced by a blank screen. Happily normal service is restored quickly.
62 min: Delph strides forward and attempts to thread a low sidefooter into the bottom corner from 20 yards. Handanovic makes a comfortable save.
61 min: Valter Birsa replaces Ilicic.
59 min: Rooney fluffs his lines in front of goal again! Townsend races to the byline on the left and pulls the ball back to Rooney, who mistimes his shot from eight yards out, scuffing it harmlessly wide with his left foot. Oh dear. What a miss.
58 min: The mood has changed. Sterling skedaddles through the heart of the Slovenia defence and into the area. He’s tackled. Penalty? If it was a foul, the referee plays an advantage, the ball running to the right for Rooney, who has a clear sight of goal. He should score. He sidefoots it over the bar.
GOAL! Slovenia 1-1 England (Wilshere, 57 min)
England use their creativity to break Slovenia down! They’re level. Raheem Sterling won possession outside the Slovenia area and charged towards goal. He was tackled but the ball broke to Lallana on the right. He twisted and turned and for a moment he looked like getting a shot away. He was tackled, falling to ground as the challenge came in, but Slovenia couldn’t clear properly. The ball came to Wilshere 25 yards from goal and he ripped a stunning effort past Handanovic and into the top-right corner! Handanovic got a hand to the ball but he couldn’t keep it out. That’s Wilshere’s first goal for England.
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55 min: Slovenia seem happy to sit back and protect their lead. It’s up to England to use their creativity to break them down. “Since Kampl is a ringer for the Man with the Thistledown Hair in Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, I’m dubbing the second half “Operration: Lost Hope.”,” parps Robert Lemon. “It confirms the widespread view that magic has not been seen in England for generations.”
54 min: Henderson slashes a shot miles wide from 30 yards. Bring back Steven Gerrard.
52 min: Okay, England have altered their formation a tad. It’s still four at the back, despite Jones going off, but Lallana is playing further forward than Henderson was.
52 min: Lallana appears on the edge of the Slovenia area and clips a pass through to Rooney, who hasn’t held his run. The flag goes up for offside.
49 min: Jordan Henderson has moved to right-back. England haven’t altered their formation. Jones has a minor ankle injury.
48 min: Townsend tries another shot from 25 yards. It’s blocked.
46 min: Slovenia get us going again.
England have brought on Adam Lallana for the injured Phil Jones.
The prolific Novakovic, no less.
Our back four has just been caught square by a player who is 36 and scored 1 in 13 in the J League for Grampus Eight.
— bayernoatcake (@bayernoatcake1) June 14, 2015
In defence of England’s defence, perhaps they thought that they could push up given that Novakovic is 36. But having done so, he shouldn’t have been quick enough to get away from them.
Half-time: Slovenia 1-0 England
England have played much worse than this but they’re behind at the break. They didn’t take their chances and they’ve been made to pay.
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43 min: It ultimately led to nothing, but I enjoyed some showboating from Kritc in the middle just now. Slovenia are bursting with confidence after that goal!
40 min: Why did England push up when there was so much space behind them? They were asking for trouble.
GOAL! Slovenia 1-0 England (Novakovic, 37 min)
England might have controlled the majority of the game, but it’s Slovenia who have landed the first telling blow with their first coherent attack. And although It’s a wonderfully constructed goal from Slovenia’s point of view, England’s defending was highly unimpressive. Ilicic drifted inside from the right, showing quick feet and an adventurous spirit, and he spotted the well-timed run of Novakovic. England’s defence had pushed up so high. The pass was easy. Novakovic was onside and through on goal as he ran into the right side of England’s area. Hart advanced but Novakovic kept his composure and just rolled the ball past him and just inside the far post! England’s unbeaten record is under threat now!
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35 min: Townsend cuts inside and shoots low with his left foot from 25 yards. A decent effort, but Handanovic isn’t overly troubled.
32 min: England are still controlling the game. The final pass is eluding them at the moment, though.
29 min: I should stress that I just want Owen to have some space, you don’t want to smother someone on your first holiday together.
28 min: Henderson’s fizzing free-kick is headed away in the six-yard box. “Michael Owen is destroying the Real Madrid Legends defence right now, and he looks sharper than anyone playing in the current England squad,” says Pjotr. “Roy needs to get him out of retirement pronto.” I’d take Owen to France next summer. Then I’d leave him there.
27 min: Sterling, up all night watching videos of Denilson on YouTube, produces an array of stepovers just outside the area on the left. He’s fouled. England have a free-kick.
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25 min: A free-kick to Slovenia on the left. Illicic swings it into the England area with his left foot and Ilic peels away from his man and lets the ball slide off his bonce and towards goal. Where was the marking? Luckily for England, the header is straight at Hart.
22 min: England are getting closer. Fabian Delph makes like a Yorkshire Iniesta, bursting through the middle, beating a defender with a stepover, and poking a pass to Rooney, in space to his left. Rooney is on the edge of the area. He shifts the ball on to his left foot and skelps a low shot towards the far corner. It’s heading in, until Handanovic gets the faintest of touches to the shot and turns it just past the post. What a save!
19 min: Sterling is looking dangerous. He’s England’s biggest threat. He surges to the byline on the left and flashes a low cross across the face of goal, the ball skidding through the six-yard box and to safety, no England forward able to apply a telling touch. If anyone had read that, it would have been a certain goal.
17 min: Slovenia are beginning to settle.
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15 min: “Did I just hear Andy Townsend say “Never a bad ball that sometimes”?” says Peter Harmer. “I can’t decide if it’s the least logical thing anyone has ever said or whether Townsend is just operating on a much higher intellectual plane than the rest of us. Actually, no wait, I can decide…”
Will you miss Townsend? My colleague, Marcus Christenson, made the convincing case here that we shouldn’t criticise Townsend.
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14 min: Better. Phil Jones finds Wayne Rooney just inside Slovenia’s half. He swivels and sprays a pass out to Sterling on the left. He scythes inside, on to his right foot, and drills a shot inches past the right post, Handanovic flat-footed in the Slovenia goal. Sterling’s shot actually took a nick off a defender. Corner to England. It comes to nothing.
13 min: A scrappy couple of minutes. That’s more like it. Or, as Andy Townsend might say, better.
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11 min: England are bossing possession. When they play like this, it’s hard to see this unbeaten run ever coming to an end.
8 min: Wilshere glides beautifully away from his marker in the middle, plays a one-two with Delph and advances towards the Slovenia area. He decides against a shot and instead feeds a pass to Gibbs on the left. His low cross is deflected behind by Brecko. The corner comes to nothing. But this has been an encouraging, open start from England.
6 min: Slovenia mount their first proper attack and win a corner on the left. It’s swung to the near post and Novakovic’s glancing header is diverted over by Phil Jones. Goal-kick to England! “Hello Jacob, and I would like to take issue with Jarrell Anthony’s assertion that Andros’ pace is “suspect”,” says Michael Cosgrove. “‘Real’ or ‘genuine’ pace are highly debatable enough as it is, but ‘suspect pace’? My style guide says no.”
4 min: England should be ahead. Rooney pops up just outside the area, collecting a pass sharply, turning and prodding a clever pass through to Sterling with the outside of his right foot. Sterling, darting inside from the left, is through on goal. The ball sits up nicely for him and Handanovic is a few yards off his line, so Sterling tries a lob. He steers the ball over Handanovic, but it doesn’t drop in time and it loops over the bar. Oh dear. That might knock a few million pounds off the asking price.
3 min: Townsend uses his real and genuine and authentic pace drives down the right and, get this, cuts inside on to his left foot. He’s tripped just outside the area. The free-kick is on the corner of the box. England try a training ground routine. With everyone expecting a cross, Townsend attempts a pass to Henderson on the edge of the area, but Slovenia are alive to the danger.
2 min: The atmosphere is brilliant. The Slovenian fans are making an almighty racket. It’s weird they’ve managed to create such a good atmosphere without the aid of some simpleton blasting out chart music over the PA system. It will never catch on, fans creating noise organically.
Moments before kick-off, Roy Hodgson is grumbling about the position of a touchline camera. He’s not happy! Presumably he thinks it’s too close to the pitch. But there’s nothing he can do, his complaints falling on deaf ears, and we are off! England, all in red, get the game underway, kicking from right to left in the first half. Slovenia are in white. “I think Andros Townsend’s pace was described as “real” in the sense that it’s realistic, for a human being, to be as quick as Andros Townsend,” says Harry Tuttle.
This is Andy Townsend’s final game commentating for ITV. If anything, he’s commentated too well.
That’s the anthems done and dealt with. Mike Mackenzie is back for more. “Actually I suspect that the oldtimers match between Liverpool and Real Madrid might be the most entertaining game today,” he says.
Here come the teams. “Not only has Mr. Roy picked Jones ahead of Clyne for some unfathomable reason,” says Mike Mackenzie. “Townsend ahead of Walcott is not encouraging. Along with Rooney being usually lackadaisical at end of season England matches and Sterling in a slump I don’t expect much in the way of attack. Hope I’m wrong ...”
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The atmosphere is rocking. The Slovenia fans are up for this. “Did Glenn Hoddle just advocate selecting Andros Townsend over Theo Walcott on the grounds that he “brings real pace”?!” says Jarrell Anthony. I’ve always been baffled by the use of “real” or “genuine” when talking about pace, but in those terms I would say that pace doesn’t come much realer than Walcott’s; Andros’ pace has always come across as quite suspect.”
Have some of this, Lithuania! Yeah, bet that hurt! Have that! And there’s some left over for you, Estonia! And especially you, San Marino! Come here, Norway, we aren’t finished yet! England!
On the one hand, England are unbeaten since the World Cup and this is undoubtedly impressive and exciting news that should ensure that they will be the favourites at Euro 2016 next summer. On the other hand, shut up.
Here’s the first email of many emails. “Afternoon Jacob,” says Simon McMahon. “This could certainly be fun. Who’s the referee? Is it Steven Naismith?”
Fans of irrelevant statistics will be delighted to hear that England will have gone a whole season unbeaten if they avoid defeat this evening. I know! The last time they managed that was under Graham Taylor in the 1990-91 season - and look what good that did them!
Selecting Phil Jones instead of Nathaniel Clyne at right-back ensures that this is going to be an afternoon of F.U.N.
The teams!
Slovenia: Slovenia: Handanovic, Brecko, Ilic, Cesar, Jokic, Ilicic, Mertelj, Kurtic, Kirm, Kampl, Novakovic. Subs: Oblak, Andelkovic, Samardzic, Beric, Birsa, Lazarevic, Rotman, Pecnik, Milec, Verbic, Vidmar.
England: Hart; Jones, Cahill, Smalling, Gibbs; Wilshere, Delph, Henderson; Sterling, Rooney, Townsend. Subs: Bertrand, Green, Walcott, Jagielka, Milner, Lallana, Austin, Cleverley, Barkley, Vardy, Clyne, Heaton.
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain).
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Preamble
Hello. It’s important to focus on the positives when England are playing. And look at it this way: when this match is over, I’m going out for a steak. Come on, England!
Nope, there’s not too much enthusiasm about England these days. It’s unlikely that anyone has their hooks hotly tentered in anticipation of this match, certainly not after England’s dismal 0-0 friendly draw with the Republic of Ireland last week, when 22 men ambled around the Aviva pitch, kicked the ball a bit, yawned a few times, had . At one point, Jordan Henderson took the opportunity to have a nap in the centre circle, a lovely 15-minute snooze that was never in danger of being interrupted by someone asking him to WAKE UP AND PROVIDE SOME ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE PAYING PUBLIC. Mr Roy admitted the game wasn’t much of a spectacle. “Did I enjoy the game?” he said. “No. Did I think we played well? No. Did the players think we played well? No.”
But he kept things in perspective. “These things do happen and we will benefit from that game,” he continued. “We needed it a lot more than I realised, with that break between the end of the season and playing again.”
So, actually, the draw with Ireland was a valuable experience for all concerned. On that basis, expect England to come roaring out of the traps against Slovenia, who they beat 3-1 at Wembley in November, and cement their place at the top of Group E (E for England!). Qualification for Euro 2016 is going well. We’re five games into it and England are six points clear of Slovenia. They’re unbeaten in their past 10 matches since losing to Uruguay and going out of the World Cup in the first round last summer, and they haven’t played just anyone during this glorious run of form. They’ve played Lithuania. Norway. Estonia. San Marino. Come on, England!
Kick-off: 5pm BST.
