England’s head coach Gareth Southgate has admitted that the Three Lions are struggling with the lofty expectations of going all the way in the ongoing Euro 2024. England played a 1-1 draw against Denmark in Frankfurt, Germany on Thursday.
England’s captain Harry Kane scored in the 18th minute but Denmark equalized with a thunderous strike from Morten Hjulmand. Phil Foden hit the crossbar in the second half but England could not take their chances.
In fact, the Danes took seven shots on target as compared to England’s four. England players were also booed by their own fans and the gaffer admitted that the level must be high.
“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.
“Of course, we need the fans, you know we need the fans, but I have to say they’ve been brilliant, absolutely brilliant in the stadiums.
“And I can completely understand their frustration with the way that we played, but what I would say is these boys aren’t lacking effort at the moment.
“I’m not going to avoid going over to the fans at the end of the game. We confront it head-on, and what we’ve got to do is play better and show people what we’re really capable of.”
Southgate admitted his team needs to be better and come up with an improved performance in the upcoming matches.
“It’s not a case that they’re not trying, but we’ve got to find a better way of playing. We’ve got to find more quality in what we’re doing.
“I don’t think people would look at them and say, ‘They don’t care.’ If anything, at the moment, we care too much, and we’ve got to find a way of getting that right balance.”
England will next take on Slovenia in their last group-stage match on Tuesday.
