JENS LEHMANN: England were too cautious against Serbia and will need to improve if they want to win Euro 2024... plus, why I think Scotland are the WORST team at the tournament

England secured a nervy win over Serbia in their Euro 2024 opener on Sunday Here, Jens Lehmann gives his thoughts on the Three Lions' chances in Germany LISTEN to It's All Kicking Off! Were England good in their opener or is the criticism fair?

England were too cautious on Sunday against Serbia. The first-half performance showed why they are Euro 2024 contenders but the second half was disappointing.

Perhaps Gareth Southgate’s tactical approach can be questioned but he made good substitutions to see the game out and to me, it looked more like a question of fatigue in the second half.

With the intensity of the Premier League, I have sympathy for Southgate because inevitably, he has to suffer when it comes to tournaments. And it has been the same for England since I was playing in the Premier League.

All of the players are better for their clubs and so many of them are exhausted by the time it’s June. But in Germany, we have a saying: ‘A good horse only jumps as high as the hurdle in front of it.’ It was enough for England against Serbia but hardly convincing. They must improve.

I was in Munich for the opening game between Germany and Scotland and I already think that Scotland are the worst team in the tournament.

Despite their victory over Serbia, England's display at Euro 2024 was slightly underwhelming

It seems some of their Premier League stars are suffering from fatigue after a long season

They were embarrassing and disappointingly poor, in contrast to their fans who were fantastic and a joy to Munich. I wish they go through but can’t see it happening. Yes, Germany were pumped up for the game but the Scots got everything wrong.

You look at their squad and they have Championship players. That sums it up. Even as a Germany fan, the lack of a contest was disappointing so I’m not getting carried away with our hopes yet because it was like a training session.

If you win 5-1, everyone thinks you can go all the way but it was their first competitive game since the 2022 World Cup and it was hardly competitive so we must have a bit of perspective. Both Hungary and Switzerland will offer tougher tests before we can truly look at Germany as contenders.

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Jens Lehmann gives his verdict on Germany's chances of winning the Euros on home soil

When we won our first game 4-2 against Costa Rica at the 2006 World Cup, I was booed by most of the Munich crowd because I replaced Oliver Kahn. The expectations were low and it’s similar this time because of our recent record.

The day after our win in 2006 we discussed what we’d done wrong and were disputing how to play. At the time, German football was behind England in terms of tactics and shape and our midfielders wanted the defenders to track the opposition strikers into midfield but I remember saying we can’t do that.

Because I’d learned so much from players like Martin Keown and Sol Campbell at Arsenal in a back four, I explained why keeping the shape was crucial. Nobody believed me until Robert Huth, who was playing for Chelsea under Jose Mourinho at the time, explained and that was a progress.

I watched Germany at the ground on Friday and what intrigued me was how little they communicated on the pitch. It’s probably a generational shift.

As for the manager Julian Nagelsmann, my concern is that his staff are completely inexperienced so I don’t expect us to win. He’s 36. Hopefully he can surprise me. That said, I was sat next to Jurgen Klinsmann in Munich and we were discussing how football now is primarily about controlling games whether you are in or out of possession.

I must say, that idea of passing constantly bores me and what I loved was how we played with enthusiasm and risk, constantly looking to score. That’s the sort of football that can inspire a nation. That’s what we want to see more of and England are capable of doing that, especially in the group stage. We saw players like Jamal Musiala thrive with that freedom. England have those talents and I can’t believe they let him go. Because we don’t have players that take on players like he does. Maybe only Leroy Sane.

After watching their display against Germany, I think Scotland are the worst team at the Euros

I watched Germany at the ground on Friday and what intrigued me was how little they communicated on the pitch

We’ve seen teams like Germany and Spain already lay down a marker. The Spanish team seriously impressed me too. I don’t think England are missing anything in terms of talent but they were too deep in that second half and can’t do that against better teams.

I love Bellingham’s arrogance, in a good way but what stood out was how solid their defence was. You cannot win a tournament without a solid defence. And as a goalkeeper, let me tell you that is key to success. So, well done England but there’s a lot of improvement needed.

We are only a few days into the tournament but there’s been plenty of complaints about the trains and it’s a concern for me, as a proud German.

Normally, the Germans are well known for organisation but it has been mediocre at best and that reflects on the state of our current government. They struggle to get anything done.

Jens Lehmann was speaking to Aadam Patel.