England were frustrated by Slovenia in their second group stage game at the under-21 European Championship as Lee Carsley’s side failed to find the back of the net in at the Štadión pod Zoborom.
The 0-0 draw leaves England with four points from two matches and facing a showdown with Germany in their final group game on Wednesday.
Lee Carsley named a team packed with Premier League talent — Tottenham Hotspur’s Archie Gray, Liverpool duo Jarell Quansah and Harvey Elliott and Arsenal attacker Ethan Nwaneri were all included — but England almost fell behind to a spectacular opener. one
Seven minutes into the contest, Tjaš Begić’s lofted cross prompted Svit Sešlar to attempt an overhead kick but the young midfielder’s acrobatic effort sailed just over the crossbar.
Sešlar was involved again shortly afterwards as he forced James Beadle into a smart stop, but James McAtee should have prodded England in front when he found himself one-on-one with the Slovenian goalkeeper Martin Turk. However, the Manchester City youngster skewed his effort well wide of the left post.
England continued to grow into the half after their slow start, but they found regular chances difficult to come by — Elliott came closest to opening the scoring when his cushioned effort bouncing back off the post.
Both goalkeepers were called into action shortly after the restart as McAtee’s close-range effort was well-saved before Seslar was thwarted by Beadle once more.
A change in system saw England dominate large swathes of the second period but Slovenia’s defence stood firm, forcing England into tame attempts from distance.
England did fashion one last opening but Turk reacted quickly to tip Jack Hinshelwood’s goal-bound header over the crossbar.
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