England captain, Harry Kane, has offered insights into the Three Lions’ struggles following their Euro 2024 draw against Denmark.
Speaking to the BBC. The Bayern Munich striker highlighted issues both on and off the ball.
Kane conceded that England were “not sure” how to press and admitted they were “struggling with and without the ball” after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Denmark in Frankfurt.
Kane’s 64th goal for England was neutralized by Morten Hjulmand’s impressive strike before halftime, marking the second consecutive game where England failed to control proceedings.
The match echoed England’s performance in their 1-0 victory over Serbia in Gelsenkirchen, where the team appeared to retreat after taking the lead.
The BBC pundits criticized Kane’s lack of pressing from the front at halftime, and the captain later acknowledged England’s confusion on how to pressurize Denmark’s midfield duo of Hjulmand and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
“It’s not just when we score that [we drop deep],” said Kane, who was substituted for Ollie Watkins in the 70th minute.
“It’s something we need to get better at. In general, when teams drop a few players deeper, we’re not sure how to get the pressure on and who’s supposed to be going.”
“In the second half, we tried to change it a bit with me and Jude [Bellingham] playing in front of their two midfielders and then trying to get up. But it was difficult: credit to Denmark, they’re a really good side and they caused us some threats.”
“We’re struggling with and without the ball. The pressing in both games hasn’t been quite right, and with the ball, we haven’t been good enough – that’s from top to bottom, from me to Picks. Everyone’s dropping below their level in terms of retaining the ball and playing under pressure. It was tough out there with the heat and the pitch. It wasn’t our greatest game but we got away with a draw.”
Despite England’s underwhelming performances, the result effectively secured their qualification for the last-16, and they remain well-positioned to win the group ahead of Tuesday’s match against Slovenia in Cologne.
Kane drew parallels to their 0-0 draw with Scotland during Euro 2020, a tournament where they ultimately reached the final.
“There’s no easy games at major tournaments and I think that’s being shown,” he noted.
“There are levels we can reach, with and without the ball, but it’s a sign of a good team that you can get results when you’re not playing well. We’re top of the group and we’ve all but qualified. I know there’ll be loads of noise and a bit of disappointment at home, but we experienced this when we drew with Scotland in the last Euros. It’s a time to stay calm, reflect and try to improve. Step by step, we’ll get there.”
England head coach, Gareth Southgate, recognized the lack of intensity in their off-ball play but cited the team’s current fitness levels and personnel as reasons for not pressing high up the pitch.
“We pressed slightly differently, which meant that [Phil] Foden was starting a little bit more infield,” Southgate explained. “But our press wasn’t intense enough, and it meant that our backline had a problem with players dropping either side of our pivots. So, that’s something that has to be better.”
“We know with the profile of players that we’ve got, we don’t feel the way to press is really high up the pitch. I don’t think that’s the physical level of the team at the moment either. But we’ve got to find a way of being more compact and more difficult to play against than we found in the last three halves of football.”
