England’s performances in their first two Euro 2024 games brought criticism from former Three Lions striker Gary Lineker, but captain Harry Kane has snapped back
Harry Kane has called on Gary Lineker to remember his own responsibilities as an ex-England international before criticising Gareth Southgate ‘s squad.
Kane was on target in the second Euro 2024 group game against Denmark, but England laboured to a 1-1 draw after Morten Hjulmand’s equaliser. The performance prompted Match of the Day host Lineker to dub the display “s***”, but Kane was none too happy with the former striker.
England went into the tournament off the back of a defeat at home to Iceland in their final warm-up fixture. They recovered to beat Serbia 1-0 in their opener, but the Denmark performance left some calling for manager Southgate to change things for the final group game against Slovenia.
Southgate’s team reached the final of the last Euros, losing to Italy on penalties. And this appeared to be on Kane’s mind as he responded to Lineker – whose best tournament performance with England was a World Cup semi-final in 1990.
“I’d never want to be disrespectful to any player, especially, you know, a player who’s worn the shirt and knows what it’s like to play for England,” the Three Lions skipper said. “Maybe ex-players or ex-players who are pundits now have got to realise… it’s very hard not to listen to [what they say] now, especially for some players who are not used to it or some players who are new to the environment.
“So I always feel like [former players and pundits] have a responsibility. I know they’ve got to be honest and give their opinion, but also they have a responsibility of being an ex-England player.
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“The bottom line is, we haven’t won anything as a nation for a long, long time. And, you know, a lot of these ex-players were part of that as well… they do know that it’s tough to play in these major tournaments. It’s tough to play for England.”
The return of four points from two group games is identical to Euro 2020, when England beat Croatia 1-0 and drew 0-0 with Scotland. Their third group game in that tournament was another 1-0 win, and they conceded just two goals all tournament before suffering a penalty shoot-out defeat in the final.
Lineker isn’t the only former player to comment on the first two games, with Gary Neville suggesting Southgate could make a couple of tweaks for Tuesday’s Slovenia clash. Speaking on ITV, Neville suggested Manchester United youngster Kobbie Mainoo could come into midfield, with Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon potentially getting his first minutes of the tournament in attack.
“He [Southgate] talked about a partner for Rice and maybe some pace upfront alongside Kane,” Neville said. “That’s Gordon and that’s Mainoo. Declan Rice must have a partner in midfield who can play and get us playing out from the back.
“I think that pace question is there, we’ve been talking about it for a few days. I think he could even be disruptive enough to do what he did in previous tournaments and go to a three at the back as well. It’s that left wing-back role that’s a bit difficult for Gareth.”
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