"If you have this much quality available, you cannot play like Union Berlin" - 2014 World Cup winner on England's playstyle at Euro 2024
Former Germany international Christoph Kramer recently criticized England for their performance at Euro 2024, calling out their style of play in the tournament. The Three Lions have picked up four points from their opening two games, but have not looked worthy of their 'favorites' tag from before the tournament.
Coming into the Euros this summer, England were seen as among the most exciting sides in the tournament and one of the favorites for the title. A lot of fans were optimistic about the chances of the team winning a first-ever European Championship, but their optimism has been tempered.
2014 World Cup-winning midfielder Christoph Kramer fired shots at Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate as he criticized their style of play. He compared their team to Union Berlin in terms of how defensive they played and said that the players will be unhappy with the manager.
He said via @eurofootcom on X:
"If you have this much quality available, you cannot play like Union Berlin!"
"They get players for a defensive block, and that's successful football?"
"I feel sorry for the players, they'll be angry because they have to play such football."
While in their 1-0 win over Serbia England were decent and won the match by virtue of their first half performance, their Denmark display was disappointing. They were outplayed by the Danes and arguably lucky to escape with a point after a poor showing in Frankfurt.
The manager has come in for a great deal of criticism for his treatment of Chelsea ace Cole Palmer، who recorded 33 goal contributions in the Premier League last season. His choice of personnel has also been met with skepticism, particularly with Trent Alexander-Arnold playing in midfield while other midfielders remain on the bench.
England legend critical of display in Denmark game
England legend Rio Ferdinand was critical of his country's performance in their second Group C game of Euro 2024 against Denmark. The Three Lions scraped a 1-1 draw from the game against a Denmark side that looked superior to them.
Speaking as a pundit on the BBC, the former Manchester United man shared his thoughts on the performance of the side, hailing Denmark for being superior. He criticized Gareth Southgate for his defensive mindset, which has limited the output of his players.
“Lacklustre, lacked any sort of direction in my eyes, tactically well below par – we were overshadowed tactically, I thought, by the Denmark team.
“You have to give them that respect, they were well-drilled, tactically superior, pressed us better, pressed us together.
“I thought England looked very average. Our best players, our most decisive players, our best players (are) at the top of the pitch and we choose to set up to defend.
“We’ve got too good players to sit back and hope to get through a game. We need to get to the bottom of, are they being told to do this, or are the players actually just being forced to do that by the opposition?”
The Three Lions missed an opportunity to go through to the knockout stages with a game to spare, and will face Slovenia next. With a ticket up for grabs, they will be keen to avoid any mishaps in their final group match.