"Quite some fall from grace" - Fans react as England suffer group-stage exit at 2025 Champions Trophy after 8-run loss to Afghanistan 

England faced an eight-run defeat against Afghanistan in the Group B match of the 2025 Champions Trophy at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday, February 26. They failed to chase down a 326-run target in the must-win encounter, getting bowled out for 317.

Following the defeat, England were eliminated from the 2025 Champions Trophy. They suffered back-to-back defeats against Australia and Afghanistan and are languishing at the bottom of the points table of their group.

Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first. They registered an impressive total, courtesy of opener Ibrahim Zadran's record-breaking ton. He registered the highest individual score in the competition's history, finishing with 177 off 146 balls.

England's senior batter Joe Root gave his team some hope with a fine century, scoring 120 runs in 111 balls. Jamie Overton (32 runs off 28 balls) threatened to take the game away from Afghanistan with a late blitz.

However, the Jos Buttler-led side ultimately fell short of the target and their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign ended in a heartbreak. Following the game, several fans took to social media to troll England for their underwhelming performance.

Here are some of the top reactions:

Some fans suggested that the English ODI team needed a major overhaul following group-stage exits at the 2023 ODI World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy.

"The bowling is what lets England down apart from Rashid the others are rubbish as Geoff Boycott would say - and please can we get rid of McCullum," wrote a fan.

"England ODI need a reset from Captain to coaches. This sufferance is enough for the fan - Baz might not want to two jobs. Get Morgan or Stewart," commented another.

"Buttler has to go. Should have gone after the India WC which exposed England's failures. The 50 over question has been around for years but you can't tell me Afghanistan play more than England do...and the one day cup doesn't really cut the mustard to fix this mess," chimed in yet another.

"It’s quite some fall from grace for the England One Day side after the highs of the winning the World Cup on home soil in 2019. They need an injection of new players, strategy and a fresh captain following their dismal form in the format," opined a fan.

It is worth mentioning that ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy, England suffered an embarrassing whitewash against India in a three-match away ODI series. They will face South Africa in their final group match of the 2025 Champions Trophy at the National Stadium in Karachi on Saturday, March 1.

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"Not saying any emotional statements right now" - Jos Buttler on his future as captain following England's 2025 Champions Trophy elimination

Jos Buttler was asked to comment on his future as England's white-ball captain during the post-match presentation after the side's loss to Afghanistan. He replied that he didn't want to make any emotional statements but was open to all possibilities.

The swashbuckling batter also mentioned that he was disappointed with his own performances as well. Buttler said:

"Don't feel far away from my best. I am one of the best players in the world and it feels disappointing to not play as well. (On his captaincy future) Not saying any emotional statements right now. For me and the guys at the top, we have to consider all possibilities."

Apart from England, Pakistan and Bangladesh have also been officially knocked out of the 2025 Champions Trophy. India and New Zealand have booked spots in the semifinals from Group A.