England were ‘awful, sloppy, fatigued, lifeless and tepid’ against Denmark say the pundits as they put the boot into Gareth Southgate’s hapless team

Pundits including former England footballers slammed the team as ‘awful’ and ‘sloppy’ as they were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Denmark at Euro 2024.

England were also described as ‘fatigued’, ‘lifeless’ and ‘tepid’ after struggling to impose themselves in their second Group C outing in Frankfurt, Germany.

Among those hitting out at the players was former England captain Alan Shearer who said he felt there was ‘no excuse’ for a performance that lacked energy.

Shearer, working for the BBC, said: ‘You can see players lying on their backs – they look absolutely shattered, the England players. There’s no excuse for that.

‘There was no energy, no pace to the game. We didn’t run in behind until the last 10 or 15 minutes, we got caught too many times on the ball, too many sloppy passes and in truth, Denmark were the better team and deserved to win.

‘It was very poor, it wasn’t good enough. I wouldn’t say lack of effort, not trying, but there’s so much more to come from those players.’

Shearer, 53, added: ‘Awful performance, particularly after going up in the game.’

Harry Kane’s opener at the Frankfurt Arena was cancelled out by a fine strike from Denmark’s Morten Hjulmand.

And former England defender Rio Ferdinand bemoaned the tactics adopted by manager Gareth Southgate.

Asked about the performance, Ferdinand said: ‘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?’

BBC host Gary Lineker branded the performance ‘lifeless and tepid’.

And Jamie Carragher told the Daily Telegraph: ‘My big worry watching this and for the rest of the tournament? England look absolutely knackered. They can’t get close to the ball. The surest sign of fatigue is dropping deep.’

Meanwhile Roy Keane told ITV: ‘Courage and bravery, we’re not really seeing it. There’s something amiss with the balance. (Jude) Bellingham is waving his arms. This is a big test for Gareth. It looks like he’s overthinking things.’

It comes after boos greeted the final whistle as England missed the chance to top their European Championship group with a game to spare.

Serbia’s late equaliser against Slovenia in the early kick-off meant the Euro 2020 runners-up knew a win would see them through to the round of 16 as Group C winners.

But Hjulmand’s thumping strike cancelled out Kane’s first group-stage goal since 2018 as England fumbled their chance at early progress.

Southgate’s selection and the underwhelming all-round team performance will be pored over in minute detail before facing Slovenia next Tuesday.

England started with the same team that beat Serbia and, yet again, took an early lead, this time through skipper Kane after Kyle Walker caught Victor Kristiansen napping.

But, as in Gelsenkirchen, they wobbled after going ahead and Hjulmand’s belting 30-yard shot in off the foot of a post saw their Euro 2020 semi-final opponents level.

Both sides had chances to win it, with Phil Foden hitting a post before being withdrawn as part of a bold triple substitution that failed to spark an improvement in a flat England performance.

England fans let their displeasure be known at Deutsche Bank Park, where the poor playing surface forced Walker into an early change of boots.

When the vice-captain returned he played the ball in to Foden to turn away from his man and get away a strike during a cagey start, which came to life after a Danish defensive error.

Kristiansen was so concerned by Bukayo Saka’s presence that Walker managed to pick his pocket on the outside, driving forward and seeing a low cross ricochet into path of Kane to slot home from close range.

Denmark’s response to the 18th-minute opener was as impressive as England’s was alarming.

While Southgate’s men were defending the box well, they were allowing the Scandinavians too much space outside it and their pressure told in the 34th minute.

Kane swept a pass from a throw-in into no man’s land, with Hjulmand passed the ball and continuing to hit a beautiful strike from 30 yards that beat Jordan Pickford and crashed in off a post.

The red hordes roared as England continued to invite pressure, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg denied between Foden chances.

Kane raised his arms in frustration after the first of those openings, having seen the forward take a tame shot rather than slip him in at the end of a stunning run.

Declan Rice saw a deflected drive held and Saka bravely headed into the side-netting early in the second half, which was only nine minutes old when Southgate turned to his bench.

The ineffective Trent Alexander-Arnold was replaced by regular midfielder Conor Gallagher as England sought to get a grip on proceedings.

Southgate held his head in his hands when a low 25-yard Foden strike cracked a post, with Saka flashing the ball across the face of goal after Gallagher made an important intervention at the other end.

But England’s play became nervier as the game wore on, with Southgate introducing a new-look front three of Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze and Ollie Watkins in place of Foden, Saka and Kane.

It was a bold move with around 20 minutes remaining and nearly paid immediate dividends, with Watkins put in behind by Bellingham and forcing Schmeichel into a save from a tight angle.

But the changes did not spark a noticeable upturn and Denmark looked most likely to snatch a winner.

Hojbjerg seemed desperate to score from distance and a superb Marc Guehi recovery tackle stopped a dangerous Alexander Bah cross.

England looked happy with a point as the clock wound down – a view that their fans in Frankfurt certainly did not share.

After the game, Southgate admitted England were struggling to cope with the pressure.

‘Look, clearly, we’re disappointed with the two performances we’ve had,’ said the under-fire England boss, who has to refocus on Tuesday’s group finale against Slovenia.

‘We’ve got to go and analyse that in depth and find some solutions to addressing the issues that we have. Over the next few days we’ll spend a lot of time doing that.

‘We know the level has to be higher, we know the level can be higher.

‘Maybe the biggest thing is we have to accept the environment that we’re in and the expectations that are around us. We are going to have to walk towards that challenge.

‘At the moment we’re falling a little bit short of that. Ultimately that’s my responsibility. I’m the manager and I’ve got to guide this group in the best way possible.

‘To achieve extraordinary things, you have to go through some difficult moments. Today was a difficult moment without a doubt, towards the end of the game especially.

‘But England have never won back-to-back qualification matches (to start the Euros) I was told yesterday, so there’s a reason for that and we hoped to write a different story today. We haven’t managed that.

‘We understand what that will mean for the next few days, but we have to stay calm inside the group and find good solutions to improve it.’

Harry Kane also admitted England were ‘struggling’ after they were jeered off the pitch.

Despite being in a good position to win Group C, captain Kane conceded the side have fallen short in Germany so far.

‘I think we’re struggling both with and without the ball,’ Kane, who was replaced by Ollie Watkins in the second half, told BBC One.

‘I think the pressure in both games hasn’t been right and with the ball hasn’t been good enough. Everyone’s dropping below their levels a little bit.

‘It was tough out there, but we’re calm. It wasn’t our greatest game, but we got away with a point.’