‘England need midfield balance and a pattern of play’

England can only go one way from here. We can only get better.

We have to because what we have seen up until now at these Euros will not be good enough for us to go the distance like when we reached the final last time.

Like everyone else, I was desperate for us to deliver against Slovenia after the way we played so poorly against Serbia and Denmark.

I really wanted to see a reaction to the criticism the team have been getting but, apart from the final few minutes, it just didn’t happen.

Instead, until some late changes, it was exactly the same sort of disappointing performance we’d already seen twice from Gareth Southgate’s side at this tournament.

Let’s be honest. While we are unbeaten, we have conceded only one goal and have won our group to reach the last 16, the way we have done it has been completely uninspiring.

We had the dream draw but we have scored two goals in three games against really poor opposition and did not give any of the teams we faced very much to worry about.

Knockout football is totally different, but none of the teams that we could end up playing next will fear us based on what we have done in Germany – although they are not the only side to be under-performing.

I look at the tournament favourites, France, and they are very much in the same situation.

Kylian Mbappe got his goal against Poland earlier on Tuesday, but France have had the same results as England: one win and two draws. They have not played well either, and the only difference is that they finished second in their group.

In fact, the only outstanding team I have seen at this tournament is Spain. The rest are all really open to massive improvement and I would put England firmly in that bracket.

We keep on saying there is so much more to come from this team, but Southgate has not found the balance to get the best out of his players.

That is the biggest thing that needs to change if we are going to see them play like they do for their clubs.

Southgate has tried Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield alongside Declan Rice and it hasn’t worked. Then he tried Conor Gallagher in there against Slovenia and took him off at half-time because that did not work either. Kobbie Mainoo replaced Gallagher and it was a tiny improvement, but not much.

One of the most concerning things about watching England is that I don’t see a pattern of play when we bring the ball forward. I just see us struggling to find one.

In the first 35 minutes of our first game against Serbia, Bukayo Saka was a real livewire down the right and saw lots of the ball – it was from his cross that Jude Bellingham scored.

Since then, I’ve seen us unable to build play and create chances, wherever you look.

As well as in the middle, the left-hand side clearly isn’t working. Southgate ended up bringing Alexander-Arnold on against Slovenia and put Kyle Walker at left-back, then threw Anthony Gordon on at the end.

He is clearly trying to juggle things, but it feels like more changes are going to be needed to get us firing properly.

The way Phil Foden and Bellingham are being used together has not been a success, which is why I thought the better route would be to use Bellingham alongside Rice and put Foden as the number 10.

It is difficult to judge players properly when they come on late in a game, but Cole Palmer did well against Slovenia, and we looked more of a threat.

It was the same with Gordon, who had a couple of runs down the left, and, with him on the pitch, we probably looked more dangerous down that flank in the final five minutes as we did in the rest of the three games combined.

The move right at the end that started with Bellingham and Gordon on the left and ended with Palmer’s shot being saved was probably the best thing we did all night.

It was the only time at these Euros that I saw us move the ball from left to right with pace, and it caused the opposition problems.

We need to see much more of that, and Palmer and Gordon could be the key to providing the spark and energy we have been badly missing.

That’s what gives me the most hope because there’s not been very much else to get excited about.

Palmer and Gordon have given Southgate something massive to think about – and he has got some huge decisions to make.

One tiny positive from our tournament is the side of the draw we are now on, because avoiding Spain, France, Portugal and Germany has done us a huge favour.

But I am not sure we can go into any game right now feeling confident about winning.

Normally, I’d say that our tournament starts here, but I don’t really know what to expect in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, whoever we end up facing.

Alan Shearer was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan in Berlin.