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

• England were held to a goalless draw but still managed to top their group
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Harry Kane and John Stones have defended England's performance as they were held to a goalless draw against Slovenia in their final group game of Euro 2024. 

Gareth Southgate's side produced another tepid display at the Cologne Stadium on Tuesday night, and for much of the game failed to improve on the showing against Denmark that drew heavy criticism. 

Despite this, the Three Lions were still able to clinch top spot in Group C after the Danes and Serbia played out a 0-0 stalemate in the other game. Senior England players Kane and Stones focused on the side hitting their primary objective in comments after the match.

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

'That was the aim before the start of the tournament to come top of the group and control 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 that final ball or finish.

'We recover well, we enjoy that we've finished top of the group and then we look forward to the next one.'

'We've been here before, we've been into the knockouts and stepped it up before in past tournaments.' The England skipper added. 'Hopefully we can do the same. Whoever we get next is going to be a hard game. It might take extra-time or penalties but that's the reality of this tournament.

'It's going to be a difficult task ahead but we've got enough ability in the team to keep pushing. We just look forward to the next round now.'

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

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

England will find out their last 16 opponent on Wednesday, which will be either the Netherlands or any of the four sides in Group E - including Romania, Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine.

Their fortuitous position in the draw now sees them on the opposite side of the bracket to the likes of tournament big-hitters France, Germany, Spain and Portugal. 

England's next fixture will take place in Gelsenkirchen, where they began their campaign with a 1-0 win over Serbia last Sunday. 

'We've got focus on us and what we can control and that's being harsh with ourselves over the next few days about the game and what we could have done better.' Stones said post-match. 

'But I feel we took a step in the right direction, not the result we wanted but I'm so pleased we topped the group. '

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2024-06-25T23:29:03Z dg43tfdfdgfd