England will take on Slovenia in their final Euro 2024 group stage game tonight, with Gareth Southgate's side looking to secure a first-place finish in Group C.
After a narrow 1-0 win over Serbia in their Euro 2024 opener, England were held to a 1-1 draw against Denmark in their last outing, with Southgate's side far from convincing in the first two games of the tournament. A lack of attacking threat saw the Three Lions have fewer shots than both Serbia and Denmark, so England fans will be hoping for a more entertaining performance this time around.
A win against Slovenia will secure a first-placed finish for England, meaning they would avoid a meeting with Germany in the Round of 16 who will take on the second-placed team in Group C. Southgate has started Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield in both games so far, but an early team leak has revealed that the Liverpool man is set to be replaced by Conor Gallagher tonight.
So can England finish top of Group C? Let's take a look...
We simulated England vs Slovenia to get a score prediction
To complete this simulation, we used the EA FC 24 Euro 2024 game mode and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that England could line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi, Gomez; Gallagher, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Foden; Kane.
We predict that Spurs could set up in a 4-4-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Oblak; Karnicnik, Drkusic, Bijol, Janza; Stojanovic, Cerin, Elsnik, Mlakar; Sesko, Sporar.
England started on the front foot, with the attacking intent that has been missing so often in this tournament on display early on. Kyle Walker came close in the 20th minute when he was picked out on the overlap by Bukayo Saka, but from a tight angle, his driven effort flashed across goal.
Slovenia were proving a danger for Southgate's side with qualification still a possibility for them, and in the 36th minute, the central European side took a shock lead when Benjamin Sesko ghosted ahead of John Stones at the front post to prod a cross past Jordan Pickford from close range. It was the worst-case scenario for England, but with a stroke of luck, they managed to draw level just before the break.
As England attacked down the right, Phil Foden drifted into the middle to offer additional support, with Jude Bellingham dropping into the space left behind by the Man City midfielder. Foden picked up the ball and flicked a pass into the path of Bellingham, and despite his first effort being smothered by Jan Oblak, the ball fell back to the Englishman to fire into an empty net on his second attempt.
Early in the second half, England were forced into a change as an injured Walker made way for Alexander-Arnold, but the substitute made an instant impact at right-back, with an inch-perfect cross into the box being met by Bellingham who headed through the 'keeper's legs to make it 2-1.
Southgate made a few more subs to try and tilt the game further into his side's favour, and the changes worked as England added a third in the 83rd minute.
As Slovenia tried to hit the Three Lions on the break, Declan Rice did brilliantly to win back possession in midfield before drilling a pass forward to Ollie Watkins. The striker sent the ball out to Alexander-Arnold on the right who picked out the run of Eberechi Eze on the left with a deep cross, and the Crystal Palace midfielder's volley deflected off the defender to beat Oblak at his near post and put a two-goal cushion between the two sides.
EA FC 24 predicted final score: England 3-1 Slovenia
EA FC 24 predicts that England could secure top spot in Group C, with Southgate's side beating Slovenia 3-1 in Cologne. Bellingham was back to his best with two goals, while Alexander-Arnold proved a much more effective asset at right-back, with the Liverpool man grabbing two assists off the bench.