'Ill feeling and mediocrity but rays of hope from elsewhere'

England saved the most ambitious act of a grim night in Cologne until last when they went over to applaud their furious fans despite knowing the wave of hostility awaiting them.

The chorus of jeering that greeted the half-time whistle doubled in volume at the end of another desperate display in the goalless draw with Slovenia that ensured they finished top of Group C at Euro 2024.

Inevitably, supporters who had backed England magnificently during the game, gave vent to their feelings, manager Gareth Southgate’s applause being met by plastic beer glasses aimed in his direction.

England finished top of Group C but any positive feelings were dredged away by another performance which made a mockery of them being touted among the favourites.

It was another desperate 90 minutes in England's company at a tournament where they have barely started, this stalemate against the side ranked 57th in the world only a slight improvement on the abysmal draw with Denmark after the patchy win against Serbia.

England are performing so poorly they are becoming accustomed to the resounding raspberry that greeted them from their followers at the end, the booing in danger of becoming their backing track in Germany.

Ironically, in among the ill-feeling and mediocrity, unlikely rays of hope appeared from elsewhere.

It sums up England's Euro 2024 so far that their highlight has not actually been any of their doing, rather the fates smiling on them as results in other groups dictated that the dangerous quartet of hosts Germany, France, Portugal and Spain have dropped into the other half of the draw.

All well and good - except that England have not looked anywhere near good enough to take advantage of the opportunity presented.

On what we have seen so far, if you gave England a mile they would take an inch.

England cannot meet any of those four countries until the final in Berlin on 14 July but that very notion is stretching credibility to breaking point, so poor have Southgate's side been.

Southgate talked about a reset but this was more of the same from an England side short on energy, inspiration and threat, their best move of the game being a slick passing exchange between Declan Rice and Phil Foden that ended with Bukayo Saka's close-range finish being ruled out for offside.

England made all the right noises before kick-off, adopting a siege mentality following criticism after drawing with the Danes, but if they intended to answer their detractors they have saved it for another day.

Southgate has to draw on the plus points but to say "so many things are coming together" is a statement wildly at odds with what England have produced.

A prime example has been the mess of midfield strategy, where Southgate has now used three separate partners for Rice in just two-and-a-half games.

The Trent Alexander-Arnold midfield experiment ended 54 minutes into the draw with Denmark while his replacement Conor Gallagher lasted only 45 minutes here, where he could have no complaints about his withdrawal.

Kobbie Mainoo was the next cab off Southgate’s midfield rank and he, at least, injected some urgency amid the lethargy. If Southgate keeps the system he seems so firmly wedded to, then he will start England’s last-16 tie. Next stop Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton.

It was another poor night for Jude Bellingham, whose performances have dipped alarmingly since his match-winning display against Serbia. He lost the ball 16 times and was guilty of negative body language in the first half when his frustration at his lack of influence boiled over.

England had almost 74% possession but little to show for it apart from an occasional goalmouth scramble, when a John Stones header was cleared, with a couple of comfortable shots easily fielded by Slovenia keeper Jan Oblak.

The statistics are significant, with England ranked 17th for shots and 19th for expected goals among the 24 teams at Euro 2024.

And as Euro 2024 groups go, Group C ranks down with the worst ever. It was the first Euros group with five matches ending in draws and the first Euros group with no teams scoring more than one goal in a game.

If you wanted thrills, you needed to go elsewhere and certainly England have not provided any.

So where does Southgate go now, particularly as he was in the very small minority who felt there were good signs here?

If he sticks with his tried and trusted formation, then it is likely Rice and Mainoo will be paired in midfield. Foden had his moments and worked tirelessly, while Chelsea’s Cole Palmer provided a lively 19-minute cameo as a right-flank replacement for Saka.

Palmer was direct, confident and suggested he could offer fresh impetus to an England side badly in need. He has put himself in the frame for a starting place, giving Southgate one of the more pleasant problems to ponder.

Anthony Gordon's appearance for the closing moments was presumably a result of Foden’s tiredness rather a desperate bid for a late winner.

England captain Harry Kane, once again on the margins, talked up the feat of finishing top of the group, offering some optimism when he said: "If you look at previous tournaments, we have played our best football in the knockout rounds, like the last Euros against Germany, Ukraine and Denmark, so for sure there is more to come."

If England are to make their mark on a tournament that held such high hopes, Southgate must hope that Kane is right because it looks a long shot at present.