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Hodgson backs England to open the floodgates

"The time will come when we'll take the chances," vowed Roy Hodgson after England reached the last 16 with a 0-0 draw against a Slovakia side content with a point and third spot.

EURO 2016 highlights: Slovakia 0-0 England

Roy Hodgson, England manager
It is very disappointing. Once again we have had all the play and a lot of opportunities in and around the Slovakia box and not been able to take one. It is both frustrating and disappointing, but I believe it will come as we have players in the team who can and will score goals.

Nathaniel Clyne had a very good game as did Jordan Henderson in front of him. They strengthened their chances of playing in future games and proved we have a very strong squad of players. What would have changed had Wayne [Rooney] started? They came on – Wayne, Harry Kane, Dele Alli. We finished the game with Wales with Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy up front and everyone was saying they were very positive changes.

England were frustrated in Saint-Etienne
England were frustrated in Saint-Etienne©Panoramic

It was a frustrating night and we fully deserved to win. In each of the three games we've been the totally dominant team. We'll be criticised for having so much possession and not scoring goals and I cannot deny that. All I can say is the time will come when we'll take the chances and some team might be on the end of that fairly soon. 

It would have been nice to go through top of the group, as our performance merited; now we play the second team in Group F. If it's Hungary, we'll be very happy to play against them. Whoever we play we'll have a tough game on our hands. But whoever plays us will be looking at a tough game.

Gary Cahill, England defender
We tried, we tried – time and time again. They shut the door in our face. So it's disappointing for us tonight because in the three games we've had the majority of possession. We dominated play from start to finish really, and we couldn't unlock the door, which is obviously a bit disappointing for us. 

The rhythm was that we had the ball constantly, and we just didn't quite have that cutting edge to open them up. In games like that, sometimes you need something a little bit special. With the view that I had, they were just sitting back. You need someone to shoot from outside the box or create something, which we nearly did.

We got in a couple of times in the full-back areas, and it just wasn't to be. We know we're second in the group now and we know we've got a huge game coming up. It gives us time to try and get back fresh. With the changes today, we obviously tried to bring fresh legs in. We looked good, and on another day we would have won.

Joe Hart, England goalkeeper
It was very frustrating – a one-sided game, quite similar to the other two games, and we just didn't really take our chances. We came up against a really strong goalkeeper today and some really heroic defending, but we've dominated all over the pitch and we're looking good as a team. 

I've played a lot of football now and I've played in a lot of dominant teams over the years, and I've seen results like this happen. It's what happens in football sometimes, but we're focused, we're through to the next round, and we've still got our sights set on going a long way in this tournament. 

We'll obviously watch the next games and see who's ready for us next, but I'm sure they won't be looking forward to finishing second in the group.

Slovakia were pleased to earn a point
Slovakia were pleased to earn a point©Getty Images

Ján Kozák, Slovakia coach
This game was similar to the match we played in qualifying against Spain. The opposition was very tough. Their line-up was very attack-minded. We were pressed deep, but we tried to get this point – an important point if we wanted to get through to the last 16.

They're a top quality team and as time went on, our players were getting tired. England showed their quality and strength, but when you have a chance to get a good result you do everything you can. I didn't expect to be pressed so deeply. In terms of football qualities, England are better than Wales.

Before the tournament, I calculated that we could only get four points if we beat Wales. And we lost to them. But football's like that. I'm very glad to have four points, but we'll have to wait to see how other matches develop. If we get through to the last 16, we'll be really happy.