England tops the group at the 2024 European Championship and Slovenia also advances after a 0-0 draw

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — England advanced to the knockout stages of Euro 2024 as group winners after a 0-0 draw with Slovenia on Tuesday.

The result in the Cologne Stadium also meant that Slovenia reached the round of 16 and Croatia was eliminated.

In a match with few chances, England substitute Cole Palmer could have sealed the victory in stoppage time, but his shot was saved by Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

England will play one of the qualifying third-placed teams in the round of 16 and will be on the opposite side of the draw to Spain, France, Germany and Portugal.

A masked Kylian Mbappe scored his first goal of the European Championship, but France drew 1-1 with Poland to finish second in Group D behind Austria, who defeated the Netherlands 3-2.

Mbappe wore a protective mask after breaking his nose in France’s opening match against Austria, scoring from the penalty spot. But Robert Lewandowski’s twice-taken penalty gave Poland its first point of the tournament.