England U21 0–0 Slovenia U21 Player Ratings: Archie Gray Rated 6.5/10 as Both Team Share Spoils in an Exciting Contest

The England U21 National Football Team locked horns with the Slovenia U21 National Football Team in Group B. It was an exciting match from both sides, but there was no goal in the 90 minutes. Read on to find the England U21 vs Slovenia U21 player ratings. The match began with attacking intent from both sides, and Harvey Elliott was the first player to receive a yellow card. A Harvey Elliott magic in the 36th minute saw the ball hit the post, and the fight to find the first goal went on.

By the 40th minute mark, it was all England U21 National Football Team that had the ball, but Slovenian players looked active going forward during counterattacks, too. James McAtee had a golden chance at the beginning of the second half to get the lead, but his shot was saved. Substitutions came in from both sides as the managers wanted to change the team's fortune.

By the 80th minute mark, the brave Slovenian defense still kept the English press at bay. After the 90 normal minutes, 4 additional minutes were added. Hinshelwood's attempt was denied by the Slovenian keeper. But the score stood 0-0. Here are the England U21 National Football Team vs Slovenia U21 National Football Team player ratings.

England U21 National Football Team Player Ratings

Goalkeeper

GK- James Beadle- 5.5/10

James Beadle was instrumental and was indeed the last man on defense. And it started from the 11th minute when he denied the Slovenia U21 National Football Team the opportunity to get a 0-1 score from a corner.

Defenders

LB- Tino Livramento- 5/10

Tino Livramento was given the green light to go forward, especially since the English midfield and forward line were unable to find an opportunity in the early minutes.

CB- Hayden Hackney- 5.5/10

The England U21 National Football Team kept a high defense line as they were failing to find the rhythm in the match. Even with the green light to go forward, Hayden Hackney had a solid command of the defense line, and his awareness made sure of keeping the dangers at bay.

CB- Charlie Cresswell- 6/10

The same can be said for Charlie Cresswell, who had utmost confidence going forward. However, he was equally effective with his defensive duties in the back. Made sure to keep the Slovenia lone forward in check for the majority of the match.

RB- Jarell Amorin Quansah- 5.5/10

Jarell Amorin Quansah was instrumental in the English defense today. He was seen interchanging the center-back position from time to time to give his team the utmost efficiency.

Midfielders

CM- Archie Gray- 6.5/10

Archie Gray was arguably the player in the England U21 National Football Team who had the most touches on the ball in the first half. He stayed just above the defense line to give the team the balance to have more possession.

CM- Elliot Anderson- 5.5/10

Elliot Anderson played his part in the English midfield today, which had a lot of possession of the ball but no intent. None of the three midfielders, including Anderson, seemed to find the inspiration that gave the team that key pass which had the goal opportunity, especially in the first half.

CM- Harvey Elliott- 6/10

Harvey Elliott was the key player for the England U21 National Football Team. However, the yellow card he saw right after the kick-off whistle (under 15 minutes) was unnecessary.

Forwards

LW- Ethan Nwaneri- 5/10

Ethan Nwaneri arguably had the best chance in the first half to break the deadlock, but the Arsenal winger's movement was just too fast to meet Rowe's inviting ball in the box. Played the rest of the match well but was less involved.

ST- Jonathan Rowe- 5.5/10

Though it was an average performance from Jonathan Rowe as a number 9, his movements at the wings followed up with quality balls in the box. However, most of those inviting low balls were not met by the English forwards, and Nwaneri was the one who had an open goal to him in the first half that came from Rowe's cross.

RW- James McAtee- 5/10

James McAtee was not as involved as he would have wished, specifically in the first half. All thanks go to the Slovenian defensive shape in the first half that denied McAtee to have the ball in a position where he could create something. Had a golden chance at the beginning of the second half to get the lead, but his shot was saved.

Substitutions

Sub- Brooke Norton-Cuffy- 4/10

Brooke Norton-Cuffy came onto the match in the 64th minute to replace Archie Gray.

Sub- Jack Hinshelwood- 4/10

Jack Hinshelwood came along with Brooke Norton-Cuffy in the 64th minute to replace Elliot Anderson.

Sub- Omari Hutchinson- 4/10

Omari Hutchinson came onto the match in the 64th minute to replace Jonathan Rowe.

Sub- Tyler Morton- 4/10

Tyler Morton came onto the match in the 72nd minute of the game to try and change his team's fortune.

Sub- Jay Stansield-4/10

Jay Stansield came onto the match along with Tyler Morton in the 72nd minute.

Manager- Lee Carsley- 5.5/10

Lee Carsley used all his subs by the 72nd minute as his team were unable to find a goal by then. His starting changes did not work as he had hoped for.

Slovenia U21 National Football Team Player Ratings

Goalkeeper

GK- Martin Turk- 5/10

The captain, Martin Turk, also had his work cut out for him since the beginning of the match as he denied the England U21 National Football Team to find inspiration from half-chances. He made even more saves in the second half.

Defenders

LB- Srdan Kuzmic- 5.5/10

Srdan Kuzmic maintained the defensive shape along with his teammate phenomenally. The Slovenian defensive shape kept all the dangers at bay, and Srdan Kuzmic played a crucial role in it. With 24 touches, he maintained 95% passing accuracy in the first half.

CB- Lovro Golic- 6.5/10

Lovro Golic's first-half performance was a true example of precision and command! His 2 clearances in the first 45 minutes were equally important to the 1 blocked shot that looked dangerous. He maintained 83% passing accuracy in the first half.

CB- Zan Jevsenak- 6/10

Like Lovro Golic, Zan Jevsenak was instrumental in keeping the Young Lions at bay in the first half. He won 2 out of his 3 ground duels but gave the ball away 4 times in the first half. However, he managed to have 37 touches of the ball in the first half.

RB- Mitja Ilenic- 6.5/10

Mitja Ilenic changed the defensive shape as the match went on under the coach's direction. He had a total of 22 touches in the game and had 67% passing accuracy in the first half. He won 2 out of his 3 ground duels. But the number increased in the second half.

Midfielders

CM- Enrik Ostrc- 5.5/10

Enrik Ostrc made quite a few rough challenges in the first half. Too rough for the referee's liking. Still, he was not penalized for those in the first half, but the referee was keeping close attention to him. He was subbed off in the 66th minute.

CM- Adrian Zeljkovic- 5/10

Adrian Zeljkovic was basically an example that it takes just a feather touch on the ball to deny any player from scoring. As he was busy helping the defense, he turned out to be the biggest asset in the backline.

CAM- Tjas Begic- 6/10

The Slovenia U21 National Football Team was courageous today throughout the 90 minutes, and Tjas Begic was the most courageous. His outrageous attempt in the first 10 minutes almost gave his team the lead.

LM- Marko Brest- 5.5/10

Marko Brest was a strong presence on the left-hand side for the Slovenia U21 National Football Team. He kept the English defenders on their toes throughout the second half. It seemed as if he did not have enough support going forward.

RM- Svit Seslar- 4.5/10

If you exclude the set piece in the early minutes, there was hardly anything that happened from the right side of the pitch for the Slovenia U21 National Football Team. The team could have surely done a lot more if there were more movements from Svit Seslar.

Forwards

ST- Tio Cipot- 4/10

Even though Tio Cipot had to be busy with defensive duties, it was expected of him to be in the box whenever the Slovenia U21 National Football Team had the ball at his feet. It was perhaps one of the reasons there were not many deliveries in the English box from the flanks during counterattacks.

Substitutions

Sub- Jost Pisek- 4/10

Jost Pisek came onto the match in the 66th minute to replace Enrik Ostrc.

Sub- Dino Kojic- 4/10

Dino Kojic came onto the match in the 75th minute to see off the game.

Sub- Jaka Cuber Potocnik- 4/10

Jaka Cuber Potocnik came with Kojic in the 75th minute to give his team a pair of fresh legs.

Sub- Luka Topalovic- 4/10

Luka Topalovic came onto the match in the 88th minute to try and change the course of the game.

Manager- Andrej Razdrh- 4/10

A win was needed for Andrej Razdrh, but he seemed to be content with a draw, and his substitutions were not aggressive either.

Sportsdunia Player of the Match is Archie Gray.