From one of the favorites to win the tournament to a team that plays like s**t. That’s the mental journey of the England national team since coming to Germany to play in EURO 2024. A finalist of the last tournament are filled with stars, especially in the attack, and yet, all they managed was a slim 1-0 win over Serbia and a 1-1 draw against Denmark, which puts them in a situation where they need a victory in the last round against Slovakia in order to win the group and prevent a Round 16 meeting with Germany. The all-round performance from the Albion has not been good, and Gary Lineker, the former England captain turned BBC presenter, described England’s performance as “s***” and said Kane “needs to do a lot better”.Not sure I’ve ever seen Gary Lineker this animated when speaking in an official BBC role before. pic.twitter.com/HvTO4Zvypi— HLTCO (@HLTCO) June 21, 2024 Obviously, ahead of the Slovenia game, the England captain had to address this issue and he hit back at Lineker and all other former players turned pundits in a clear but polite way.”I would never want to be disrespectful to any player, especially a player who has worn the shirt and knows what it is like to play for England. But what ex-players or ex-players who are pundits now have got to realise it is very hard not to listen to it now, especially for some players who are not used to it or some players who are new to the environment. I always feel like they have a responsibility. I know they have got to be honest and give their opinion but also they have a responsibility of being an ex-England player that a lot of players look up to that people do listen to them and people do care what they say“ said Kane.Three Lions!? At the moment they look more like three domestic house catsBayern Munich’s striker is well aware that neither he or his teammates are playing well but wants to ease the pressure ahead of the key games and also reminds the former England internationals that they also wore the jersey and still haven’t won anything.”The bottom line is we haven’t won anything as a nation for a long, long time and a lot of these players were part of that as well and they know how tough it is, so it is not digging anyone out. It is just the reality that they do know it is tough to play in these major tournaments and tough to play for England. I would never disrespect any ex-player. All I would say is remember what it is like to wear the shirt and that their words are listened to. Some of the lads, I don’t know how many, but we do hear it. We all want to win a major tournament and I am sure they want us to win a major tournament and being as helpful as they can and building the lads up with confidence would be a much better way of going about it” he said.EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP – GROUP STAGEMonday 22.00: (7.50) Albania (4.40) Spain (1.45)22.00: (3.05) Croatia (3.45) Italy (2.45)***odds are subject to change***
