Harry Kane opened the scoring against Denmark but England failed to hold onto their lead as Morten Hjulmand’s side hit back to claim a 1-1 draw in Frankfurt.
Two games into the tournament and England haven’t exactly set the world alight. With two drab performances and being one of the pre-tournament favourites fans and pundits have criticised Southgate’s men.
Former England striker, Gary Lineker usually holds back in his assessment of players particularly strikers but on this occasion he slammed Harry Kane’s efforts, claiming he barely moved.
He said on the BBC broadcast: “Can I offer a slight theory? If you want to press, it has to come from your centre forward first.
“Harry does not press and he has not pressed in that first half. He’s barely moved. Then the team goes deeper and Harry Kane goes even deeper and even when you get the ball you have nothing to hit. I just don’t understand.”
“In all honesty, I think Harry Kane needs to do a lot better.
“I think his movement was minimal. He didn’t look to go behind, and he doesn’t often.
“But even when he comes short, he’s just drifting short, very kind of lethargically. He’s plodding short. And that’s not going to help.
“When you’re a striker, your two jobs are, obviously score goals. Which he’s brilliant at, he has been all his career. He’s wonderful at that sort of thing.
“But I think he needs his manager to say, ‘Right, I need a little bit more from you, Harry’. I’d have expected that, if I’d have had that sort of performance.
“As a striker, he’s up against three at the back. So he has got to stretch that team. When you go short, you’ve got to go that way [forward] first, to keep them up there. Then you come short.
“So when you get the ball coming short, you don’t have to go 20 yards to get it short. He’s ambles in and ambles in, and they just let him go so he doesn’t get it.
“He’s not creating the space for himself, for a start.”
🗣️ Gary Lineker talking nothing but sense on Harry Kane…#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/HS4iNIWSGO
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) June 20, 2024
Eventually Southgate had seen enough of Kane’s effort and hooked him in the 70th minute for Ollie Watkins who instantly ran through on goal only to see his effort saved.
Next up for the Three Lions is Slovenia on Tuesday.
