Woody Allen once famously said, “Eighty percent of success is just showing up.”

Clearly when he said this he was not thinking about the England national team. Although the Three Lions put eleven men on the pitch and played ninety minutes their inability to register anything remotely resembling an attack cost them dearly on Monday night in Saint Etienne. Despite the best efforts by substitutes Wayne Rooney and Deli Alli England drew 0-0 with Slovakia.

Fielding a very different side from the one that defeated Wales 3-1 last week, England struggled to create chances early. Led by Adama Lallana and Jordan Henderson, the English attack seemed fixed on breaking down Slovakian left back Jan Durica. Henderson would hit a heel flick shot over Durica in the 28th minute that would be saved by goalkeeper Matus Kozacik.

Kovacik would prove to be the foil once again for England just four minutes later when he would make a diving save on a shot taken by Lallana. Lallana was set up by his Liverpool teammate Henderson.

Slovakia would provide England a scare in the second half when forward Robert Mak would intercept a poor clearance by center-back Chris Smalling. The PAOK target man found himself all alone against England goalkeeper Joe Hart but was unable to provide a decent shot on target. In general Slovakia had few chances to take the lead taking just four shot to England’s twenty-nine.

Midway through the second-half England manager Roy Hodgson would bring on Rooney, Ali, and Harry Kane with the hope of breaking the deadlock. Both Ali and Rooney did well at providing some chances. On both occasions though their opportunities were denied by a familiar foe: center-back for Slovakia and Liverpool Martin Skrtel.

Skrtel would first deny Ali in the 60th minute making a toe poke clear off of a shot on Slovakia’s back door. Ali came down with the cross and hit a shot that appeared to be beyond the reach of Kozacik. Thankfully for the Slovakian supporters in attendance Skrtel was there to make the clear.

Rooney’s best opportunity, a howler in the 74th minute, would also be denied by Skrtel. Despite not engendering many attacking opportunities the Slovakian defense preserved the 0-0 draw thanks to their persistent defensive efforts.

With the draw and Wales’ 3-0 victory over Russia, England (1-2-0, 5 points) drops out of the top spot in Group A. Although they will advance out of the Group Stage of the European Championship for the second time in as many opportunities, their second place finish likely means a date with either Hungary, Iceland, or Portugal.

All hope is not lost for Slovakia (1-1-1, 4 points). Their draw today means that they are still alive to claim one of the third place spots up for grabs in the knockout stage. They currently sit in first place among all third place squads in this tournament, a point ahead of Northern Ireland and Albania.

MATCH SUMMARY

England-Joe Hart, Chris Smallin, Gary Cahill, Ryan Bertrand, Nathaniel Cline, Eric Dier, Jack Wilshere (Wayne Rooney 56′), Jordan Henderson, Jamie Vardy, Daniel Sturridge (Harry Kane 79′), and Adam Lallana (Delle Ali 60′)

Yellow Card- Bertrand (52′)

Slovakia-Matus Kozacik, Jan Durica, Martin Skrtel, Tomas Hubocan, Peter Pekarik, Viktor Pecovsky (Norbert Gymober 66′), Marek Hamsik, Juraj Kucka, Ondrej Duda (Dusvan Svento 57′), Vladimir Weiss, and Robert Mak

Yellow Card- Pecovsky (24′)