Harry Kane and John Stones insist England ‘played a lot better’ against Slovenia than they did in their first two Euro 2024 games, as the Three Lions snuck into top spot after another uninspiring stalemate

Harry Kane and John Stones have defended England’s performance as they played out a goalless draw against Slovenia in their final group match of Euro 2024.

Gareth Southgate’s side produced another tepid performance at the Cologne Stadium on Tuesday evening, failing to improve on their performance against Denmark for much of the match, which drew heavy criticism.

Despite this, the Three Lions still managed to take top spot in Group C after the Danes and Serbia played out a 0–0 stalemate in the other match. Senior England players Kane and Stones focused on the side achieving their primary goal in the post-match comments.

And the pair insisted the team is on the right ahead of the knockout rounds of the competition.

‘That was the goal before the start of the tournament, to reach the top of the group and take control of our own destiny.’ Kane told ITV. ‘Tonight was a tough game, we played a lot better than the other two games. We played with a lot of energy, better on the ball, but we just couldn’t find the last ball or finish.

Harry Kane defended the side’s performance, which he said was an improvement on their previous performances

‘We are recovering well, enjoying finishing at the top of the group and then looking forward to the next one.’

“We’ve been here before, we’ve been in the knockouts and we’ve stepped it up before in previous tournaments.” The England skipper added. ‘Hopefully we can do the same. Whoever we get, it will be a tough match. It may cost extra time or penalties, but that is the reality of this tournament.

“It will be a difficult task, but we have enough power in the team to continue. Now we’re just looking forward to the next round.”

Southgate made one change to the team before the match, with Conor Gallagher replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield, but the Chelsea player lasted just half an hour before being replaced by Mainoo.

Fans praised the impact of the Manchester United youngster, while Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon gave the manager food for thought ahead of the next round.

England will face their last 16 opponents on Wednesday, and they will be the Netherlands or one of the four teams in Group E, including Romania, Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine.

Their fortuitous position in the draw now sees them at the opposite end of the rankings from tournament powerhouses such as France, Germany, Spain and Portugal.

England’s next match will take place in Gelsenkirchen, where the season started with a 1-0 win over Serbia last Sunday.

Manchester United youngster Kobbie Mainoo impressed after coming off the bench for the second half

John Stones said the Three Lions needed to focus on themselves and insisted the team had taken a step in the right direction

“The focus is on ourselves and what we can control, and that means we’ll be hard on ourselves in the coming days about the game and what we could have done better.” Stones said after the game.

‘But I feel like we took a step in the right direction, not the result we wanted but I’m so happy we topped the group. ‘