England and Gareth Southgate have been shredded by the European press after their 0-0 draw with Slovenia at Euro 2024.
On a night where fans yearned for inspiration and hope against a nation ranked lower than Scotland, the Three Lions fell flat, lacking invention and verve.
While last-16 football has been secured, England have once again been tossed into the pressure cooker of criticism.
German Outlet Bild belittled England by arguing that ‘these lions are kittens’ and contended that ‘the criticism will only get worse’ in a dim view of their prospects. They also called the performance ’embarrassing’.
Meanwhile, they doled out some withering ratings. Bild score players and managers from one to six, with six being the worst possible score. Seven individuals were given a five – and only Declan Rice managed as high as three.
The European press have torn England apart following their 0-0 draw with Slovenia on Tuesday
German newspaper Bild branded it the ‘next embarrassing performance by Kane’s squad’
L’Equipe: French Touch: Like the French team a few hours earlier, the English team qualified without shining, displaying a worrying attacking impotence
Marca ask ‘what the h*** is wrong with Gareth Southgate?’ while Bild claim: ‘You start to wonder what his plan actually is!’
Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Conor Gallagher, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, and Southgate were all given a humiliating rating of five.
Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Kobbie Mainoo, and Cole Palmer did not fare much better on four.
Southgate was torn apart in an extended reproach as Bild wrote: ‘You start to wonder what his plan actually is!’
They branded the performance ‘frightening’ and ‘lacking in control’ and slammed Southgate for moving Bellingham on to the left wing in the second half.
However, they did give credit for an uptick after half-time and gave plaudits for keeping a clean sheet.
Meanwhile, Bellingham was besmirched as ‘very pale’ and ‘uncharacteristic’ with his ‘bad passing’.
Bild felt that Foden had ‘too little influence on the game’ – despite him operating through the middle for some of the second half – and that Saka ‘had little chance to make an impact’.
Gallagher’s audition to replace Alexander-Arnold in the knockout rounds could not have gone much worse, and he was taken off at half-time.
Jude Bellingham was handed the second-lowest possible rating by Bild and criticised for his ‘uncharacteristic’ performance
Phil Foden had ‘too little influence on the game’ in the eyes of Bild, despite moving to No 10
About him, Bild wrote: ‘He disappeared completely, seemed unsettled, and lost the ball during the game.’
Elsewhere, pundit Christoph Kramer tore into Southgate on broadcaster ZDF.
He said: ‘What bothers me about Southgate, if I compare him to Julian Nagelsmann: Nagelsmann has a plan in his head.
‘If it doesn’t work, he stands there and tries to change it. You can tell by his facial expressions and his gestures. Southgate can’t possibly have a plan in his head!
‘Because he lets the game play out as it happens and just sits there. Normally, as a coach, you have a clear idea and if it doesn’t work, you freak out. You try to give your players something to take with them.
‘He doesn’t do that at all. I find that so strange. He just lets this world-class team play. After the first half that we saw from England, we thought: nothing is happening!
‘If you do not have good in-game coaching, then you have to at least change something for the next game.
‘But he does not change anything! He simply sends the eleven into the race. It does not matter who plays the game.
Appointing Pep Guardiola might be ‘worth’ the try for England mid-tournament, Marca said
German pundit Christoph Kramer said that Southgate ‘can’t possibly have a plan in his head!’
Harry Kane was among England’s ‘top flops’ in the eyes of French paper L’Equipe
‘I feel sorry for some of them. They are sent there. You can have as many players as you want. If you are sent into a game like that, you have no chance.’
Spanish newspaper Marca claimed that ‘you can’t play worse’ than England did and believe they would improve if they sacked Southgate and installed Pep Guardiola mid-tournament.
Marca list England’s array of attacking talent before concluding that Southgate has got ‘none of them to play well’, producing a ‘sad’ performance against Slovenia.
Further along, they pose a fiercely worded question: ‘what the h*** is wrong with Gareth Southgate?’
For the life of them, Marca cannot understand why Cole Palmer has been ‘kept in the most absolute anonymity’ – his 19 minutes against Slovenia were his first at Euro 2024.
They praised the decision to bring on Kobbie Mainoo for Conor Gallagher as he brought ‘dynamism and a tremendous personality,’ but feel his ‘ceiling is below that of Trent Alexander-Arnold.’
Meanwhile, French sports behemoths L’Equipe compared England to their own nation, who qualified for the last 16 without scoring a goal from open play.
‘Like the French team a few hours earlier, the English team qualified without shining, displaying a worrying attacking impotence,’ they wrote.
