England ‘terrible, sloppy, fatigued, lifeless and tepid’ towards Denmark
Pundits including former England footballers slammed the team as ‘awful’ and ‘sloppy’ as they were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Denmark at Euro 2024.
England were also described as ‘fatigued’, ‘lifeless’ and ‘tepid’ after struggling to impose themselves in their second Group C outing in Frankfurt, Germany.
Among those hitting out at the players was former England captain Alan Shearer who said he felt there was ‘no excuse’ for a performance that lacked energy.
Shearer, working for the BBC, said: ‘You can see players lying on their backs – they look absolutely shattered, the England players. There’s no excuse for that.
‘There was no energy, no pace to the game. We didn’t run in behind until the last 10 or 15 minutes, we got caught too many times on the ball, too many sloppy passes and in truth, Denmark were the better team and deserved to win.
The Euro 2024 match at the Frankfurt Arena between England and Denmark yesterday
England manager Gareth Southgate on the touchline during the match in Frankfurt yesterday
Morten Hjulmand scores for Denmark as Jordan Pickford dives during yesterday’s game
‘It was very poor, it wasn’t good enough. I wouldn’t say lack of effort, not trying, but there’s so much more to come from those players.’
Shearer, 53, added: ‘Awful performance, particularly after going up in the game.’
Harry Kane’s opener at the Frankfurt Arena was cancelled out by a fine strike from Denmark’s Morten Hjulmand.
And former England defender Rio Ferdinand bemoaned the tactics adopted by manager Gareth Southgate.
Prince William watches from the stands during England’s 1-1 draw with Denmark yesterday
Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden during the Euro 2024 match against Denmark yesterday
Asked about the performance, Ferdinand said: ‘Lacklustre, lacked any sort of direction in my eyes, tactically well below par – we were overshadowed tactically, I thought, by the Denmark team.
‘You have to give them that respect, they were well-drilled, tactically superior, pressed us better, pressed us together.
‘I thought England looked very average. Our best players, our most decisive players, our best players (are) at the top of the pitch and we choose to set up to defend.
‘We’ve got too good players to sit back and hope to get through a game. We need to get to the bottom of, are they being told to do this, or are the players actually just being forced to do that by the opposition?’
England fans in the stands during the Euro 2024 match at the Frankfurt Arena yesterday
Morten Hjulmand scores for Denmark as Jordan Pickford dives during yesterday’s game
England players pose for a team group photo before the match in Frankfurt yesterday
BBC host Gary Lineker branded the performance ‘lifeless and tepid’.
And Jamie Carragher told ITV: ‘My big worry watching this and for the rest of the tournament? England look absolutely knackered. They can’t get close to the ball. The surest sign of fatigue is dropping deep.’
Roy Keane also told ITV: ‘Courage and bravery, we’re not really seeing it. There’s something amiss with the balance. Bellingham is waving his arms. This is a big test for Gareth. It looks like he’s overthinking things.’
