Tens of thousands of England fans in Cologne for Tuesday’s last group match against Slovenia are calling on the Three Lions to come out “roaring” after a tame first two games in Euro 2024.
The team has come under fire after a narrow win over Serbia and a lacklustre 1-1 draw against Denmark. It left fans underwhelmed, with BBC pundit and former England striker Gary Lineker labelling the performance against the Danes as “s***”.
England are already through to the round of 16, but a win tonight would ensure that Gareth Southgate’s men top Group C and make it into the “easier” half of the knock-out draw.
But if they slip up and come second they would face the daunting prospect of playing hosts Germany in Dortmund on Saturday night.
Defeat could in theory mean a third place finish — potentially setting them up for an equalling difficult match against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal on Monday.
Millions will be glued to screens across the country for the 8pm kick-off against Slovenia, with fans in Cologne hoping the game will spark England’s campaign.
Joe Littleton, 24, from west London who is in Germany for the match at the RheinEnergieStadion, urged the Three Lions to “wake up” and replicate the form of recent years in which the team has progressed to the later stages of major tournaments, including the final of the last Euros.
He said: “We need to wake up and come out strong and attack-minded against Slovenia. It’s not been good enough so far but I back the team to win the group and grow in confidence.
“It’s been a difficult watch so far. The Denmark game was a shambles but we have the quality and should win the group. I think we will grow into the tournament we just need to see some more steel, and quality, to be honest.
“I think the Three Lions will be roaring again soon. I hope so, especially as I’m here until the semi-finals.”
Southgate appears to have resisted major changes to the team, with Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher coming into the midfield for Trent Alexander-Arnold. This was expected to be the only switch to the starting line-up. However, it has been predicted that Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon and Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton could make their tournament starts at some stage during the game.
If England wins the group they will face a third-placed team from one of the groups in the round of 16 at 5pm on Sunday in Gelsenkirchen.
As things stand, that could be Austria from Group D; any one of Romania, Belgium, Slovakia or Ukraine from Group E, or the Czech Republic or Georgia from Group F.
Fan Tom Marshall, 27, said: “I have a ticket for the Slovenia game and I’m praying that we can turn it on, win the group and then go from there. We need more from the boys and the jury is out on Gareth Southgate big style.
“I still think if the team gets into gear we could get to the final. We certainly don’t want to play Germany in the next round though.”
