Match 37 | Slovenia vs England | June 23 | Post-Match Thread [R]

This scene looks funnier every time I look at it, although I have to give credit to Johnson, he shows England really was in this match with the heart.

Dedič should have scored here though.

True, though you have to take into account that losing by a margin of more than 1 goal would bring up another problem - what if Algeria managed to score and win the other game? That would put them on 4 points with a GD of 0 while Slovenia losing 2:0 would have a GD of -1...

But generally there was not enough guts and conviction from us, though we did start getting some chances toward the end, when England were more concerned with preventing the equalizer than getting another goal and winning the group

Biggest reason for losing (besides some defensive mistakes) was that our midfield was pretty much non-existant. We always gave possesion away in the middle in about 5 seconds, then backed away and let England push us right into the penalty box

We should be more aggresive in the mid and even the attackers should be coming back, putting pressure on the english back line, breaking up the organization of their attacks early. Not let them set nice and cosy up on our half for a constant siege.

I think England have the team to do so, but do the players have the belief?

Nice.

Don't they know both teams in the other game by now? Algeria had yet to score in two games. The US had scored 3 times and always played better in the second half. If your concerned about committing early then wait until the 70th minute to push. But make sure to push hard! At that point you have to say to yourself let's go for broke and see if we can win the whole group.

I liked watching England play Slovenia. They looked slower but they dictated play better than usual. The Poms should have score three or four though and Defoe should start every game from now on. Rooney has been a disappointment and Lampard hasn't been impressive. Johnston, Gerrard, A Cole and Milner played well.

Slovenia lacked creativity in midfield and a decent striker. The US result stuffed them up though and they shouldn't have blown a 2-0 lead.