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Southgate’s team produced just five shots on target in 240 minutes of action against Switzerland and Slovakia in the prior two rounds, needing penalties and extra-time respectively to progress. 

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Former England striker Alan Shearer called the team “rotten” after staggering past Slovakia, while French Euro 2000 winner Emmanuel Petit echoed many fans and national media by labelling England “boring.”

Told his team was “not easy on the eye” by a German reporter, Southgate produced an assortment of reasons. “I’m sorry for that, but our intention is always to play well with the ball—in football you have an opponent that’s trying to stop you,” he said after the win over Switzerland. “These are not normal football matches, these are national events with huge pressure, with really young men in the middle of it. They are doing so well.” 

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