"This is dreadful" - Alan Shearer reacts to England's first half showing against Slovakia at Euro 2024
Former England national team captain Alan Shearer shared his opinion on the Three Lions' performance in the first half against Slovakia in the Round of 16 of Euro 2024. The match is currently ongoing at Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, with Slovakia maintaining a one-goal lead by the end of the first half.
Slovakia opened their scoring in the 25th minute with forward Ivan Schranz's goal from an assist by David Strelec. Gareth Southgate's men failed to the find the back of the net or produce a shot on target.
Alan Shearer made a post criticizing England's gameplay against Slovakia in the first half along with suggesting potentially effective substitutes. The English legend's post on X read:
"77% possession. Zero efforts on target. Get higher up the pitch. This is dreadful man. Get Gordon on and get Palmer on. #ENGSVK"
England, along with Denmark, Slovenia, and Serbia, were sorted into Group C for Euro 2024, which the Three Lions topped. They secured five points with one win and two draws.
England have been runners-up in the UEFA European Championship in 2020 while ending up in third place twice in 1968 and 1996, but are yet to claim to title.
Gareth Southgate on his choice of England's lineup ahead of Euro 2024 Round of 16 clash
England national team head coach Gareth Southgate spoke about the criticism he has received for his decisions regarding the starting lineups in Euro 2024 clashes. Ahead of their Round of 16 match against Slovakia, the 53-year-old manager said (via GOAL):
"It's irrelevant [what fans think of me]. The most important thing is the support for the team and what I said the other night was to try to make sure that we get the sort of support that the team got in the stadium in the second half, simple as that."
"You're probably about five per cent off where you'd like to be. Therefore you've got to be very careful not to throw everything out the window, lose things you're doing well and lose continuity and the confidence that comes from players playing together and the understanding that comes with that," added Southgate.
Defending his decisions with respect to the lineups and expressing confidence in his squad for Euro 2024, Gareth Southgate concluded:
"You have to ignore external advice and be assured in what you're doing. Equally, we've had some players who have come in and had a big impact from the bench. Our substitutions in all of the matches have had a big impact, and we're mindful people are pushing for places, there's competition, we need that strength in depth."
Gareth Southgate took charge as head coach of the England national team in 2016.