Joe Hart saves England in tepid goalless World Cup qualifier against Slovenia

England drew with Slovenia on a drab goalless night in which Joe Hart was the star of the show.

The Torino No 1 made a string of excellent saves to deny a Slovenia side who troubled England throughout, with Fiorentina playmaker Josip Ilicic particularly influential.

A weak Eric Dier back-pass forced Hart to come charging off his line early on and make an excellent one-on-one save – although the England stopper was slightly fortunate to see the follow-up come back off the post.

Hart was called into action twice again shortly after the break, making a reaction save to palm a close-range shot around the post, before producing a stunning two-handed stop to somehow prevent a header crossing the line.

And that wasn’t the end of Hart’s difficult evening, with Ilicic again drawing a smart stop out of the Torino stopper after captain Jordan Henderson had played the forward in with a no-look back-pass.

At the other end England failed to click, pressuring intensely early on before losing their fizz and flattering to deceive across the front line.

Gareth Southgate’s side moved the ball with pace early on, but lacked Rooney’s leadership when things started to unravel as the game wore on. However, the Manchester United striker's introduction showed that his lack of pace – both over the turf and in his passing game – was not what England were missing. It was in the wide areas where Southgate’s side really lacked the required spark, with Walcott and Lingard ineffective… although neither were as poor as the disastrous Daniel Sturridge up top, who was fortunate to stay on the pitch for as long as he did.

Joe Hart (England) – Ilicic was a close second in the man of the match race, but no player on the pitch had more of a say on the final result than England’s goalkeeper, who appears a man reborn after his move to Italy. That was Hart at his calm and controlling best, making excellent saves throughout and marshalling his defence without the over-wrought attitude he brought to the role in the summer.

Slovenia: Oblak 7; Struna 7, Samardzic 7, Cesar 7, Jokic 7; Krhin 7; Kurtic 7, Birsa 6, Verbic 7; Ilicic 8, Bezjak 7. Subs: Kronaveter 6, Mevlja 6, Omladic 6.

England: Hart 8; Walker 6, Stones 6, Cahill 6, Rose 6; Dier 5, Henderson 5; Walcott 3, Alli 6, Lingard 6; Sturridge 2. Subs: Townsend 6, Rooney 5, Rashford 6.

10’ – POST – A poor Dier back pass forces Hart to come charging off his line and make a good save, but the England defence completely fail to shut down the danger from there on in and are given a big let-off when Kurtic's shot cannons back off the post with the goalkeeper rooted to the spot. That should have been 1-0 and Dier's defensive mistake was only the first in a string of errors. Southgate is fuming on the touchline.

46’ – CHANCE – Ilicic tears England apart inside the first minute of the half, but turns down a shooting opportunity in favour of a cut-back that fails to reach any of his three waiting team-mates.

47’ – TRIPLE SAVE – Hart makes a point-blank save, but produces an even more stunning stop from the resulting corner as he claws a goalbound header on to the bar and then palms the rebound away with his other hand. That's sensational from the Torino stopper.

58’ – WIDE – Ilicic drills in a dangerous shot that slides narrowly wide and would likely have beaten Hart.

69’ – SAVE – Henderson attempts a suicidal back-pass that plays Ilicic in, but the forward's first touch gives him a slightly tricky angle and makes it easier for Hart to make the save.

England failed to muster a single shot on target in the first half versus Slovenia.

Sturridge had four unsuccessful touches and the lowest pass completion of any player on the pitch in the first half.

England had three shots on target – their lowest in a competitive game since Costa Rica at World Cup 2014.