Former England captains Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer were far from impressed by Sunday’s 2-1 win over Slovakia in the round of 16 at Euro 2024.
Gareth Southgate’s side could only muster two shots on target throughout two hours of turgid play in Gelsenkirchen.
The first came in the fifth minute of added time when Jude Bellingham scored a stunning equaliser to save England from a humiliating defeat.
Current captain Harry Kane then headed home the winning goal from England’s only other on-target effort 51 seconds into extra time.
Lineker introduced Monday morning’s edition of his podcast, The Rest Is Football, by revealing how Shearer had struggled to contain his frustration while watching the game.
England’s players pictured during Sunday’s 2-1 win over Slovakia in the Euro 2024 round of 16
Former England captain Alan Shearer found Sunday’s game terribly frustrating to watch
Lineker said that Shearer was ‘so exasperated’ at one point that he left the room after declaring: ‘I need to walk, I need to walk’.
According to Lineker, Shearer then let out a loud scream from another room.
Confirming the story, Shearer replied: ‘It was just desperation, it was desperate. They were so bad it was untrue.’
Shearer continued: ‘They were miles off it, miles off it. They’re nowhere near what we’d hoped and expected from England. We’re all waiting for us to improve and get better, for that spark.’
Later in the episode, Lineker described England’s players as ‘lost souls’.
He insisted that their effort and commitment could not be questioned but said that they were clearly struggling to adjust to a tactical style that was ‘alien’ to how most of them play for their clubs.
Gary Lineker, another ex-England skipper, said the Three Lions players looked ‘like lost souls’
England manager Gareth Southgate looked like a relieved man following Sunday’s narrow win
‘Just look at the quality of the players that England actually have at their disposal,’ Lineker groaned. ‘But you’ve got to get something out of them.
‘I look at them at the moment and I see a team that’s like lost souls. I don’t think they really know what they’re supposed to be doing, or what their jobs are, or how the team’s supposed to be playing.
‘I’m sure they have been told but it’s whether they’ve bought into it. They’re playing in a kind of format or style that is alien to most of them, because most of them play a high press, with dynamic, electric short passing football [for their clubs].
‘We’ve not seen any of that. So I actually feel for the players a little bit. You can see that they are trying their nuts off. They are running, chasing and doing all those things. There’s absolutely no lack of effort or commitment but they look a little bit lost.’
