England fans will be hoping the Three Lions can bring back the feelgood factor on Sunday after Gareth Southgate’s men sent millions of supporters and an army of WAGs into despair and boredom during their 0-0 draw with Slovenia last night.
Uninspired England supporters in Germany and back home will be waking up with sore heads after sitting through the dull stalemate, which was met with a chorus of boos at full-time before a selection of furious fans launched plastic beer cups at Southgate as the squad did a lap of ‘honour’.
Despite the lacklustre performance, England have limped through to the knock-out stages of the Euros as Group C winners and preparations are now underway for their last-16 clash on Sunday at 5pm.
Last night’s draw at the packed out Cologne Stadium means the Three Lions will thankfully avoid France, Spain, Germany and Portugal – and will either face the Netherlands, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania or Belgium.
England fans will be returning to fan zones, pubs and bars in their droves come Sunday, but there is an air of disappointment as Southgate’s men are yet live up to their reputation as Euros favourites. They narrowly beat Serbia 1-0, drew 1-1 with Denmark and failed to even score against Slovenia – a country ranked 57th in the world.
There was visible frustration from those who had made the trip to Cologne, with supporters seen making obscene hand gestures and shouting at Southgate as he applauded the supporters. For others, the boring match was enough to send them to sleep.
The Three Lions started brightly and there was a rare moment of elation when Bukayo Saka finished off a brilliantly worked team goal to give England the lead – but it was ultimately disallowed for offside. Southgate’s side failed to create any real threat going forward – and the full-time whistle put the travelling fans and millions more at home out of their misery.
The match had been overshadowed by yet another distracting off-field WAG drama after Kieran Trippier’s wife shared a cryptic social media post and unfollowed him on Instagram. The England camp has been trying in vain to keep a lid on any drama, including about Kyle Walker’s marital blow-up to allow the vice captain to concentrate on his football after both wife Annie Kilner and ex-lover Lauryn Goodman attended the last game versus Denmark.
Tripper’s home life was thrust into the limelight hours before the clash when it was revealed his wife Charlotte, 33, had posted on Instagram: ‘Sooner or later you get over the s*** you swore you’d never get over and it’s the best feeling in the world.’ Hours earlier, Charlotte post a short film of herself enjoying ‘some calm’ before the school run on her Instagram story, which she has since deleted. The video showed her in a dressing gown looking into the camera pensively
Last week, England’s draw against Denmark was overshadowed as Lauryn and Annie both showed up to watch Walker play.
Yesterday’s match left devoted fans wondering if they would continue to cheer on Southgate’s men after making the costly journey to Germany to support England.
Following the game, England players were consoled by their emotional family members and glamorous WAGs.
Jude Bellingham’s parents looked close to tears as they comforted the midfielder in the stands after the team’s ‘abysmal’ sleepwalk into the Euro 2024 knock out stages at Cologne Stadium.
Stunning Dani Dyer, who donned a white England shirt, sympathetically leaned on her partner Jarrod Bowen following the game as they appeared to engage in a serious conversation.
Ollie Wilkins was greeted with a kiss from his long-term girlfriend Ellie Anderson in the stands, while Harry Kane beamed as he gave his wife a huge bear hug and draped a red jacket over her shoulders.
A fed-up looking Phil Foden was seen sat between his mother Claire Rowlands and father as the stadium cleared while Cole Palmer was given plenty of hugs from his family members.
During the game, goalie Jordan Pickford’s wife Meghan was seen reading her phone, as well as Wilkins’ partner – while Bukayo Sako’s girlfriend Tolami Benson stared up at the crowd above and treated herself to an ice cream mid-match.
One fan Steve Walsh, 21, of Aston, Birmingham, said: ‘We were so boring and Slovenia were supposed to be the underdogs. We looked scared. Southgate needs to wake up and realise he has got the best players in the world.
‘We were like rabbits caught in car headlights. I was behind the England goal in the second half and it was groan after groan nearly everytime we had the ball. What has happened?’
With a flag of St George painted on her face, events manager Charlotte Dale, 32, from Nottingham, said: ‘We may not have won but we’re into the last 16 as group winners and we avoid Germany.
‘There was a lot of negativity in the run up to this game and hopefully this will go some way to silencing that noise.
‘It frustrates me that all of us – the fans, the pundits, everyone – seem to have no middle ground as far as England is concerned.
‘If we win we’re the best in the world and should be beating everyone 5-0. If we lose we’re suddenly ‘s***’, as Gary Lineker said.
‘The truth is probably always somewhere in between. Most people would have taken a group win before the tournament. No-one will want to play us.’
Fans in the UK had ditched work early to bag the best seats in local boozers and screening venues as they remained hopeful about their team’s shaky fate – but were left bitterly ‘bored’ and disappointed.
Earlier on Tuesday, another distracting off-field drama created fury in the England camp as Kieran Trippier’s wife shared a cryptic message on social media.
Charlotte Trippier, 33, wrote in an Instagram story yesterday on the eve of the Slovenia game: ‘Sooner or later you get over the s*** you swore you’d never get over and it’s the best feeling in the world.’
The profile belonging to her Newcastle star husband did not come up in the list of accounts she was following this morning, leading social media users to claim she had unfollowed him – although Trippier still follows her.
Charlotte has decided to remain in the UK with her three children during the tournament, while WAGs that have travelled to Germany include Kyle Walker’s wife Annie Kilner and – controversially – his former lover Lauryn Goodman.
Lauryn, 33, became embroiled in a paternity scandal earlier this year when it emerged the footballer, 34, had fathered her ten-month-old daughter while being married to Annie, 32.
After the full-time whistle, fans could even be seen appearing to throw empty cups at the England manager as he went to clap the travelling supporters.
England fans who watched the game at Pop Brixton in South London were left fuming at Gareth Southgate’s negative tactics.
Chris Appleton, 43, from Hove, Sussex, said: ‘Southgate doesn’t learn from past mistakes, he always plays Foden on the left. He doesn’t know his best team yet and we’re now in the knock-out rounds. It’s worrying.
‘Even though the subs he made were good, he hasn’t got the guts to start any of them. I can’t see us winning the tournament because we don’t seem to be growing as a team.
‘We’ve won the group and have a favourable side of the draw but I’m not confident going into any game now and it seems like it’ll be another wasted opportunity.’
Christian Kemp, 46, from Tulse Hill, London was in equally unforgiving mood.
He joked: ‘Same old Safegate! He never mixes it up, just sticks to the same tired old tactics.
‘You’ve got to attack teams like Slovenia, games like this are such a good opportunity to turn it on. All the confidence has drained from me. I think the first knock-out game is 50-50 as to whether we’ll win
‘We’ve not been tested by one of the top teams yet. I can’t see us getting a result against one at the moment.
‘The only slight positivity is that we didn’t concede tonight. But with all that attacking flair we have we’ve not been anywhere near good enough further up the pitch. The subs came on too late and Ollie Watkins remained on the bench when Kane looked tired and languid.’
In Magaluf, while a party atmosphere prevailed at half time, with the crowd singing Sweet Caroline and Vindaloo, the full-time whistle was met with complete silence in the resort’s fanzone.
Two young England fans agreed that the only answer was to find a new manager. ‘We had possession most of the game but did nothing with it,’ said Jack Richards, 18 from Leighton Buzzard.
‘Southgate needs to go – that’s the only answer I can see. He doesn’t seem to believe in himself and he’s not taking his own decisions.’
His friend Tommy Beerman, also 18, added: ‘The team is ok he just needs to play people in their normal positions. There’s so much potential there, but he doesn’t seem to be getting the best out of them.’
After the match ended, most England fans walked away in search of more fun in the bars and nightclubs on the 600m long ‘strip’ which is a magnet for young Brits.
‘We should do well but England have already qualified so they may lay back. I’m confident England will win. I say 2-1 England.
‘Whatever happens I don’t have to get up early tomorrow because I’m not working at the moment, so I’ll be having the day off!’