Why is it so ‘tough to play for England’? Harry Kane’s prickly response to Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer’s Euro 2024 criticism proves turgid Three Lions still can’t cope with pressure

Lineker is far from the only ex-England star to have given a brutally honest assessment of Southgate’s side. The likes of Wayne Rooney, Alan Shearer, Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand have also voiced their concerns on live TV, and there is nothing wrong with that. Pundits have a duty to deliver harsh truths when it’s necessary.

There were pretty much no positives to speak of at all after the Denmark game anyway, but they would have been doing England a disservice if they’d tried to paper over the team’s glaring issues. If they don’t challenge Southgate when things are going wrong, then who will?

Unfortunately, Kane doesn’t see it that way. “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,” said the England captain. “That 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. Being as helpful as they can and building the lads up with confidence would be a much better way of going about it.”

Kane also conveniently ignored Lineker’s attempts to justify his comments. The BBC presenter said after his breakdown of England’s draw with Denmark: “There are no personal attacks on anyone’s character, nobody has accused anyone of not trying because we know the players will be devastated by it.”

Both Lineker and Shearer acknowledged that there was no lack of effort from any of the England players on the pitch at at Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park last Thursday. Nothing they said was inaccurate or overly emotional.

Kane’s failure to press from the front did lead to England playing too deep out of possession, as Lineker shrewdly highlighted. And Shearer was spot on with assessment that the “balance was not right in midfield” as Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice all struggled to make any kind of meaningful impact on proceedings.

They also suggested potential tactical tweaks in a bid to help England unlock their full potential at the tournament. Constructive criticism should be encouraged, especially when it comes from people who have the benefit of first-hand experience and just have the national team’s best interests at heart.

Kane’s defensive stance only served to highlight the fact England still can’t accept collective responsibility for their failure. The players buy into the narrative that the media is the big villain, and they’ve become overly sensitive to expert analysis.

Rice also struck a similar tone to Kane as he advised Lineker and Co to essentially mollycoddle England’s best players to provoke a positive reaction. “Your players like your Phil Fodens, your [Bukayo] Sakas, your Jude Bellinghams, tell them they’re the best players in the world and make them read that and think I’m going to go out there and perform and give it absolutely everything,” said the Arsenal man. “Rather than reading the negative comments sitting on their mind and then thinking that they can’t play a certain way. That’s the way I think about it.”

Has Rice been hiding under a rock for the last six months? Those three youngsters have been consistently lauded for their performances at club level, and all of them were built up as potential messiahs for England before the Euros kicked off. The only thing that has created is over-inflated egos.

On current form there is no way that the Three Lions will go on and lift the trophy. And in the aftermath of another painful exit, it will once again be suggested that squad is subjected to unfair levels of scrutiny that prevent them from being successful.

But pressure is part of the game and the best teams use it as fuel. England won’t bring almost 60 years of hurt to an end with this ‘woe is me’ attitude.

The frustration being vented by pundits and fans alike stems mainly from the fact this is arguably the most talented squad in English football history. Southgate is blessed with quality in all areas of the pitch, and there is no excuse for them not to deliver, particularly against the lesser nations.

England have the tools to blow workmanlike teams such as Serbia and Denmark away. The fact that they failed to do so after taking the lead in both games would have been forgivable, had they not rested on their laurels and completely surrendered control.

It’s certainly true that Southgate’s safety-first approach holds England back at times. But he cannot be held to account for all of the poor individual performances from players who almost always step up to the mark for their clubs.

Kane lumbered around the pitch against Denmark with very little purpose, and on the rare occasions he did get on the ball, his first touch and weight of pass let him down. Foden demanded possession constantly but too often ran down blind alleys or picked the wrong option, Bellingham lost the ball far too often and lacked his usual intensity, while even John Stones was guilty of being sloppy.

It was like they were all playing with weights around their ankles, which has been a running theme for the England squad over the past 20 years or so. They’re certainly making playing for the Three Lions look tough, but what is it about the international stage that inspires this irrational fear?

The situation is still very much salvageable at the Euros, though, not least because Southgate isn’t burying his head in the sand. “Maybe the biggest thing is we have to accept the environment that we’re in and the expectations that are around us,” he said after the Denmark game. “We are going to have to walk towards that challenge. At the moment we’re falling a little bit short of that. Ultimately, that’s my responsibility.”

But it will also be necessary for the players to be more self-reflective if England’s outlook in Germany is to improve. Southgate’s system is not solely to blame for their turgid start; elite performers tend to shine regardless of what formation they are instructed to stick to.

Julian Nagelsmann has essentially been playing with four No.10s as Kai Havertz, Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz and Ilkay Gundogan have led from the front for Germany, and they’ve still excelled. England’s biggest problem is mentality-related.

There is a lack of inner-belief in the Three Lions dressing room, and doubt spreads through the team like a virus whenever they are faced with a setback. That’s what Southgate has to fix, or else England won’t have the mettle to get over the line against the elite sides in the latter stages of the tournament.

It’s important that England don’t just settle for a point against Slovenia on Tuesday. Not only would another draw exacerbate talk of a crisis, but Southgate’s men would also be facing a nightmare draw in the knockout stage.

If England end up finishing second in Group C, they will face Germany in the last 16, with Nagelsmann’s side having topped their pool ahead of Switzerland. The Three Lions would be huge underdogs in that fixture, and if they got through, a quarter-final tie against an in-form Spain or one of the best third-placed sides from Groups A, D, E or F would be their reward, while Portugal or the Netherlands would then likely await in the last four.

A far more favourable path to the final beckons if England beat Slovenia, but they also need to make a proper statement. Confidence is crucial in these tournaments, and right now, it’s in worryingly short supply in Southgate’s ranks.

In order to change that, Kane and his supporting cast would be well advised to properly reflect on the points made by Lineker and the rest of old England favourites that make up the Euro 2024 media team. Lining up for the Three Lions will be a much more enjoyable experience if they do.

Now is the time to fight for the badge and show some personal pride. England can keep being the ultimate nearly-team, or they can really come together and achieve something special. The foundations are in place, it’s now up to the players to decide how they want to be remembered.