“How come those players cannot take leadership?” - Frank Leboeuf calls out 3 England superstars to take responsibility after poor start to Euro 2024
ESPN pundit Frank Leboeuf has urged Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham to lead with example after England's poor start to Euro 2024. Although the Three Lions finished on top of their group with five points, their performances in the three matches were below par.
Most recently, they played out a 0-0 draw against Slovenia on Tuesday (June 25). In total, Gareth Southgate's team have scored just twice in the tournament, with goals coming from Bellingham and Kane.
After their latest result, Leboeuf told ESPN:
"He (Southgate) is becoming too stubborn now. When you see that it doesn't work not once or twice, but thrice, he will have to change something and he didn't.
"(There was) no chemistry between the players today, you don't feel like something will happen (when you see them play). In the first two minutes, I saw two English players saying 'okay guys, calm down.' Calm down what? You have to be on rhythm, give pace to the game. Otherwise, you're not going to surprise Slovenia."
He added:
"Nobody takes any risks, nobody wants to take the leadership, that's unbelievable. When you see names like Bellingham, Rice, Kane, they are leaders. How come those players cannot take the leadership? There is no feeling, no intuition.
"Right now I'm questioning the way they play and how they're going to perform in the last 16."
In their game against Slovenia, England took 12 shots but tested the opposition goalkeeper on just four occasions after keeping 74% possession.
Looking at England striker Harry Kane's number from his latest Euro 2024 outing v Slovenia
England striker Harry Kane put up another poor display against Slovenia in Euro 2024 as he failed to find the back of the net. Overall, the Bayern Munich striker took two shots, out of which one was on target and missed one big chance.
He recorded a shocking passing accuracy (63%) and lost the ball 12 times. Kane won exactly half of his four ground duels while managing to end up victorious in one of his two aerial battles.
The former Tottenham Hotspur striker's displays at Euro 2024 are particularly surprising after the incredible goalscoring season he had with his club. For Bayern Munich, Kane made 45 appearances across competitions in the 2023/24 campaign, bagging 44 goals and 12 assists.