Jamie Vardy anonymous as England settle

Jamie Vardy anonymous as England settle for dull 0-0 draw vs. Slovakia

A frustrating evening for England saw them draw 0-0 with Slovakia and finish second in Group B, but they are still through to the next round of the European Championships.

It was a little difficult to get upset about this performance, blunt as it was, against a Slovakia side that defended superbly, though there were clearly flaws in the way England tried and failed to break through the massed ranks. That said, praising England for keeping possession would be rather pointless, as Slovakia were more than happy to donate it. It would be like praising someone for not dropping a glass of water they'd just been handed.

The changes Roy Hodgson made -- six in all -- were not the reason for the draw. Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Bertrand were more or less as good as the men they replaced, everyone wanted Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy in anyway, and England were actually worse after Wayne Rooney and Dele Alli were reintroduced.

England will of course have to find a way to be more incisive in the knockout rounds, but the group stage is about qualifying, which they have now done, however unconvincingly.

Player ratings (1-10, with 10 the best; players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating):

GK Joe Hart, 5 -- Hart flapped at a cross but otherwise enjoyed a very leisurely evening. Given the nervy manner in which he has played the past couple of games, that was probably for the best.

DF Nathaniel Clyne, 7 -- One of the advantages of this England squad is that because there are few outstanding individuals, most players can be replaced without huge problems. Clyne was good going forward; it can't be often that an opposition team makes a defensive substitution, as Slovakia did by taking off Vladimir Weiss on the basis of the right-back.

DF Gary Cahill, 6 -- You do sort of wonder why Hodgson didn't simply chuck Cahill up front in the last 10 minutes. He didn't have anything better to do in defence.

DF Chris Smalling, 5 -- It was almost as if England's defence decided that, if Slovakia weren't going to give them any work to do, they'd create some excitement for themselves. Smalling's attempted chest back to Hart in the second half, a pass that the keeper just reached, was as pointless as it was dangerous, and the Manchester United man was lucky to get away with it.

DF Ryan Bertrand, 6 -- Bertrand was not quite as impressive as his counterpart on the other flank and perhaps didn't get into enough crossing positions, but he was fine overall.

MF Eric Dier, 7 -- Probably England's best player in the tournament so far, Dier did his job perfectly, by sitting deep in midfield and shifting the ball to his more attacking colleagues, with the expectation that they might do something more imaginative with it. It was hardly his fault that they didn't do their jobs.

MF Jordan Henderson, 6 -- His was a slightly odd performance in that much of his approach play was pretty decent, but when he actually got the ball, particularly in wide areas, his delivery was horrendous.

MF Jack Wilshere, 5 -- He started well and looked like he would bring a bit of control to the England midfield, but then he started giving the ball away. When the one thing you're in the team for is keeping and intelligently using possession, that's not ideal. He didn't really look fit either, which isn't a colossal surprise.

FW Adam Lallana, 6 -- Lallana always looks quite good, but there is sometimes a sense that he could and should be doing a little more. This was one of those evenings in which he showed some nice touches and passes but rarely did anything of enormous incisiveness. That said, England looked less inventive after he went off.

FW Jamie Vardy, 5 -- Vardy showed a few decent runs in the first half, including the one-on-one that he really should have buried, but he was utterly anonymous after the break. Vardy's in the team to provide some dynamism, but for all the good he did, he might as well have been sitting on the touchline in a deckchair, sipping plastic cups of UEFA-endorsed, watered-down lager.

FW Daniel Sturridge, 7 -- Sturridge was always lively and at least looked like he was trying to create chances, though we can probably all agree that he isn't a right winger. He was unlucky to be taken off rather than the ghost-like Vardy.

Substitutes:

FW Wayne Rooney, 5 -- Ponderous. Against a team with a packed defence like Slovakia, England needed someone with a bit of spontaneity and creativity, but Rooney offered little. His idea of creating danger seemed to be blundering into the penalty area with little idea of what to do next, then losing the ball. He had plenty of time to make an impact but didn't.

MF Dele Alli, 6 -- Again, Alli wasn't brilliant, but he did at least try a little something more than his captain -- and with a bit more urgency.

FW Harry Kane, 5 -- Brought on in the hope he'd create something, Kane looked as jaded as he had in the first game-and-a-half. Marcus Rashford would have been a more dynamic option.