Former England midfielder Paul Ince believes Gareth Southgate’s squad is not up to the standard of the past, along with a number of other international sides.
Ex-Inter Milan and Liverpool ace Ince, believes it is an exciting group but that people have got carried away in their reaction to the group’s quality.
“This England team, they’re not great players,” Ince told Bet365 Yes they’re young and exciting with a little bit of experience, but to say that this is the best squad that England have ever had is absolutely ridiculous.
“I think there’s people looking at recent tournaments at the squad that got beaten by Italy and got to the semi-finals in 2018, we feel that this is probably a very good squad.
“But you’ve got to understand the level of players that we were playing against in 96 to the level that players are now. It’s changed a lot. The level’s not as high as it was back in our time.
“Even if you look at someone like Gheorghe Hagi, who played for Romania, there were so many world-class players and I don’t think you get that level with international teams now.
“Look at Italy with Nicolo Barella, then look back to Paulo Rossi and Marco Tardelli, these are the types of players we were playing against in international football.
“The level of international football for me has dropped which means that England have got a very good chance. They’ve got a very good squad, but to say it’s the best squad of all time is totally ridiculous.”