England qualify for Euros round of 16 after Albania lose to Spain

England have qualified for the knockout stages of the Euros after Albania failed to beat Spain. The Three Lions are now guaranteed a place in the round of 16 regardless of the result in their final group stage game against Slovenia on Tuesday.

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It comes after the England squad faced heavy criticism over their 1-1 draw to Denmark last week. However, a 1-0 victory over Serbia in their opening game means the Three Lions cannot finish last in group C, and will top the group if they beat Slovenia.

On the eve of the final Group C match against Slovenia in Cologne, Southgate was asked how he felt about criticism from pundits including Gary Lineker.

“That is the world we are in,” he said. “I am oblivious to it, it is not important to me at all. What is important to me is that I’ve got to guide this group of players confidently through the terrain that is a tournament.

“We are a high-profile team with expectations and we fully understand everything we do will be scrutinised so I am very comfortable living that life and I don’t need to engage in external because I am my own biggest critic, I think our players are as well.

“So there is nothing to be gained from us that is going to help improve us listening to external criticism. We know what we have done well, we are very honest about that. We know when we need to be better, we are brutally honest about that. That is how you work as a team, that is how you coach a team and that is how you improve performance.”