England stars have been mauled by German media following their lacklustre Euro 2024 display against Slovenia on Tuesday night. The Three Lions were bereft of ideas in front of goal and were held to a 0-0 draw as their opponents shut up shop.
Apart from a disallowed Bukayo Saka strike midway through the first half, England struggled to carve out any real chances against a team ranked at No 57 in the world.
And England, who came under fire after their 1-1 draw with Denmark, are now facing criticism from further afield despite securing top spot in Group C.
In the aftermath of the showdown with Slovenia, Bild exclaimed “these lions are kittens”, while predicting “the criticism will only get worse” as the tournament progresses. And discussing Gareth Southgate, the German publication wrote: “You start to wonder what his plan actually is.”
The performance was described as “frightening” and “lacking in control”, with Southgate then slated for moving Jude Bellingham to the left wing in the second half.
Bild also used their usual ratings format to award individual marks to Southgate and his players, with one being the best score and six being the worst.
Declan Rice received the least severe rating of three, while Bellingham, Saka, Phil Foden, Conor Gallagher, Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier were all handed a five for their displays. Southgate received a five as well.
Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Marc Guehi fared slightly better as they were handed ratings of fours. But Cole Palmer and Kobbie Mainoo may feel aggrieved to also be given fours after making positive impacts off the bench in the second half.
As Bild added some context to their ratings, they called out Bellingham’s “bad passing”, while avowing that Foden had “too little influence on the game”. The publication affirmed that Saka “had little chance to make an impact”, and were particularly scathing of Gallagher as they wrote: “He disappeared completely, seemed unsettled, and lost the ball during the game.”
Meanwhile, former Germany defender Christoph Kramer went in heavy on Southgate during an appearance on ZDF as he explained: “Southgate can’t possibly have a plan in his head.
“Because he lets the game play out as it happens and just sits there. Normally as a coach you have a clear idea and if it doesn’t work, you freak out. You try to give your players something to take with them. He doesn’t do that at all. I find that so strange.
“I feel sorry for some of them. They are sent there. You can have as many players as you want. If you are sent into a game like that, you have no chance.”
