Chelsea’s Cole Palmer finally played his first minutes of Euro 2024 on Tuesday night as England wrapped up their group stages with a goalless draw against Slovenia.
England were held to a 0-0 draw by Slovenia this evening, but they’ve still done enough to top Group C.
For Chelsea fans, they will be delighted that they finally got to see Cole Palmer on the pitch.
The 22-year-old attacker was an unused substitute earlier in the tournament against Serbia and Denmark, but he got a small run out versus Slovenia to show what he can bring.
He replaced Bukayo Saka on the right wing in the 71st minute and certainly made a positive impact.
Roy Keane reacts to Cole Palmer performance
Roy Keane was extremely positive in his instant reaction to Palmer’s England display on Tuesday night.
He’s shared that he’s a massive fan of the Chelsea playmaker, who had a really positive influence when he stepped on the pitch for his first minutes of the tournament.
Speaking on ITV1 straight after England’s draw with Slovenia (10:07pm, 25 June), Keane said: “Obviously Mainoo looked very comfortable out there, but the one I am always excited to watch, I think Palmer certainly has that X-Factor. When he came on, every time he gets the ball, you think something is going to happen. I do love Palmer. I think he is an amazing player.”
Keane later added (10:11pm): “Would you want to mark Palmer? You wouldn’t want to play against him because he is so unpredictable, and he can beat a man, he can go left and right. A lot of brilliant players, they affect the game. When he came on, you knew he was going to affect the game.”
Chelsea fans were right
There’s certainly a big section of Chelsea supporters that have been calling for England boss Gareth Southgate to use Palmer at the Euros. Well, they were proved right against Slovenia.
It was another uninspiring performance from the Three Lions at this summer’s tournament, albeit you take the positives from qualifying top of the group.
In addition, the way that Palmer impacted the match was a real breath of fresh air.
He was positive with his forward passing during his international cameo. He will be gutted he fired a late shot straight at the goalkeeper, though.
Chelsea fans have seen week in week out that Palmer impacts any game that he plays, whether that’s for his club or country.
Surely, he’s put himself in a great position to feature in the last-16 tie for England.
Match stats
FotMob data has provided the statistics from Palmer’s brief but eye-catching England display against Slovenia:
- Minutes played – 19
- Touches – 22
- Accurate passes – 12/12 (100%)
- Shots on target – 1/1 (100%)
- Touches in opposition box – 1
- Was fouled – 1