‘England are about to really feel the pressure’

• When you’re a player in the England camp at a major tournament, though, you go into protective mode. You can become very defensive, especially if things are not going to plan.

• Our manager Terry Venables dealt with it brilliantly to take the pressure off us and made sure that, inside the England camp, it was still a positive place to be.

I didn’t think England were under too much pressure coming into Euro 2024, but they are about to really feel it now.

I heard Kyle Walker defend their performance against Denmark, and England’s tactics, afterwards, and I understand why - I have been in his position as a player, and said similar things myself.

But England were booed off after Thursday’s 1-1 draw in Frankfurt, and the crowd were gone within a minute of the game ending, so that tells you the mood of the fans.

I was just as critical in my co-commentary at the Waldstadion, and so were Micah Richards and Rio Ferdinand in the BBC studio.

I think we all had a valid point, because that performance was nowhere near good enough.

I know England sit top of their group and are unbeaten but you have to analyse the performance and look at what went right and wrong and, while there is plenty to chew over what went wrong, not much, if anything, was right.

When you’re a player in the England camp at a major tournament, though, you go into protective mode. You can become very defensive, especially if things are not going to plan.

You feel like you have to say the kind of positive things that Walker was talking about and, even if you know you can do much better as a team, you just have to try to block out any negative reaction.

Blocking out the noise about your performances is even more difficult now than it was during my England days because of social media and the increased scrutiny the players are under.

Southgate has already spoken about it to his squad after the opening win over Serbia in Group C and explained how there are usually 20 Premier League teams to write or talk about, but now all eyes are on them.

He’s right and, to deal with that, the players are better off staying off in the bubble inside the camp. I always did.

Walker says he rarely reads the media or pays attention to what is being said on TV or radio, and I was exactly the same in his situation.

I experienced the full force of it at Euro ‘96. We had gone on a tour of the Far East a couple of weeks before the tournament started and there were some incidents, including the original ‘dentist’s chair’ escapade, that resulted in us getting a lot of stick in the media.

So, we were under pressure because of that and, because we were hosts, there was also an expectation for us to perform on our own patch.

We started the tournament slowly, with a 1-1 draw with Switzerland when we did not play particularly well. But any criticism we got for that did not affect us because we already had a siege mentality in the squad after the coverage we had received before a ball was kicked.

Our manager Terry Venables dealt with it brilliantly to take the pressure off us and made sure that, inside the England camp, it was still a positive place to be.

It is going to be down to Gareth Southgate to try to do the same in the coming days, because there is probably a barrage of criticism on the way.

The manager is going to bear the brunt it, because we are not seeing these players perform the same way for England as they do every week for their clubs.

This team needs a spark

Graphic showing England’s starting XI: Pickford, Walker, Stones, Guehi, Trippier, Alexander-Arnold, Rice, Saka, Bellingham, Foden, Kane

I spoke after the game about John Stones and how, in two games at this tournament, we have not once seen him come out of defence with the ball or operate in midfield like he does all the time for Manchester City.

Similarly, if you were listening to my co-commentary of the Denmark draw, you would have heard how frustrated I was that we are not seeing Declan Rice burst forward from midfield the way he does for Arsenal.

Gareth is a bright guy, so he will know what is coming — he will also know that his job is to get the best out of his players, and he is not doing that at the moment.

As individuals, they are not performing anywhere near how they can and should be. As a team, there was no aspect of what they did with or without the ball that was anywhere near good enough.

We lacked energy, our pressing was not right — we did not seem to know who should go or when - and the balance was not right in midfield... the list goes on and on.

There is a lot to work on, but course we still have to remember that things can turn very quickly in tournament football.

That was the case for us in our second game at Euro ‘96 when Scotland had a penalty saved at 1-0 and then we went up the other end and Paul Gascoigne produced that bit of magic – everything was different for us after that, and we really kicked on in our next game, against the Netherlands.

This team needs a similar spark now too. They are definitely capable of finding it but, whether it is a moment in a game or a tactical switch that turns things round, it needs to happen very quickly.

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

OTHER NEWS

4 hrs ago

EPP environment lead calls for delay to anti-deforestation law

4 hrs ago

Al Qassam Ambushes IDF On Rafah Streets, Israeli Merkava Tanks Up In Smoke

4 hrs ago

How Old is Pastor Chris: Exploring a Lifetime of Ministry

4 hrs ago

Biden worried as Putin Modi Announce Big Meeting In Moscow | Will India Help Russia In War?

5 hrs ago

2 Exceptional Growth Stocks to Buy for Under $100

5 hrs ago

Here's Why I Just Loaded Up on Salesforce Stock

5 hrs ago

'Once-in-a-lifetime' humpback whale sighting

5 hrs ago

See how Mandera Town MP was Given Redcarpet Welcome for Voting No to Finance Bill 2024

5 hrs ago

Deadly heatwaves in June? Climate scientists explain why extreme weather is battering Greece

5 hrs ago

1 Growth Stock Down 40% to Buy Right Now

5 hrs ago

d.light CEO Nick Imudia is Dead, Cause of Death Mysterious

5 hrs ago

Car affordability affecting auto lending market, study shows

5 hrs ago

Germany: Protesters rally to demand closure of U.S. air base in Germany

5 hrs ago

Euro 2024: Georgian players receive $10m for beating Portugal

5 hrs ago

Japan warns prolonged high U.S., Europe interest rates

5 hrs ago

Better Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock: Nvidia vs. Palantir Technologies

5 hrs ago

Should You Buy This Sinking Stock on the Dip?

5 hrs ago

Hong Kong condemns Taiwan after second-highest travel warning issued for city

5 hrs ago

UBS shakes up flagship wealth business with new unit, memo says

5 hrs ago

Cholera: Katsina Govt reports 110 suspected cases

5 hrs ago

H&M to offer more discounts as it battles to revive sales

5 hrs ago

SEC: NGX floats digital platform to facilitate Nigeria’s $1tn economy

6 hrs ago

Factbox-US energy sector deals accelerate in quest for reserves

6 hrs ago

Celtics C Kristaps Porzingis out 5-6 months after surgery

6 hrs ago

1 Warren Buffett Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock I'm Monitoring Closely, and Why You Should, Too

6 hrs ago

New Orleans Pelicans select Baylor center Yves Missi with No. 21 overall pick in 2024 NBA Draft

6 hrs ago

Hamilton: Mercedes has “cracked something” with F1 qualifying struggles

6 hrs ago

US core capital goods orders fall sharply in May

6 hrs ago

Finance Bill 2024: How Protests Affect Kenya Shilling Value as Kenya's Eurobond Yields Hit Highest Since February

6 hrs ago

US weekly jobless claims fall; business spending on equipment softening

6 hrs ago

University of Abuja elects Prof Aisha Sani Maikudi acting VC

6 hrs ago

Kayaking with Monkeys

6 hrs ago

Explainer-What are battle lines in Ireland's multi-billion euro Russian jet trial?

6 hrs ago

China's industrial profits rise at slower pace in May amid patchy recovery

6 hrs ago

‘There’s more money in music than football’ – Portable claims

6 hrs ago

Ballon d’Or: Neymar names favourites to win award

6 hrs ago

Kenya’s Insurance Industry Must Embrace Digital Transformation to Thrive

6 hrs ago

"Overcritical" Norris chasing final percent to beat Verstappen in F1

6 hrs ago

Starlink Mini Coming Soon: Elon Musk Assures Kenyans of Further Reduction in Satellite Internet Price

7 hrs ago

The full circle moment in Marquez's 2025 MotoGP future news