Gareth Southgate has been told to make serious changes after England's dire 1-1 draw with Denmark.
Harry Kane scored early to put the Three Lions on course for a second win at Euro 2024, but Southgate's side immediately backed off in typically conservative fashion. Soon enough, their lead was cancelled out by a superb long-rage strike by Morten Hjulmand.
Denmark even looked more likely to win it in the second half, with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford being tested on multiple occasions as England's defence and midfield were played through too easily. Southgate had selected the same starting line-up as in Sunday's narrow 1-0 win against Serbia, a performance which drew concern from fans but still resulted in three points.
Midfield is the starting point for where supporters are demanding change, particularly in the case of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool right-back has struggled so far in a central midfield role, an experiment which many fans hope is brought to an end when the Three Lions take on Slovenia in their final Group C game on Tuesday.
The same goes for deploying Phil Foden on the left wing, with most supporters desperate to see him play centrally. On a tactical note, fans are unhappy with how England have approached their two opening games after taking an early lead - a criticism of Southgate's era prior to Euro 2024.
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"The whole root of the problem is trying to accommodate Trent Alexander-Arnold," one fan argued. "Stop putting round pegs in square holes and play [Anthony] Gordon on the left and Foden centrally and drop Trent who ISN'T a midfielder."
When Alexander-Arnold was subbed off for team-mate Conor Gallagher in the 54th minute, one supporter's reaction read: "That has to end this ridiculous Trent Alexander-Arnold midfield experiment, absolutely f****** invisible."
"I'd start Cole Palmer over Phil Foden and Kobbie Mainoo over Trent Alexander-Arnold in the next match," another fan stated on X, formerly Twitter.
A second would even drop Jude Bellingham, saying: "Cole Palmer should start next game for England, Foden should sit on bench, Gallagher to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold and [Ollie] Watkins should replace [Jude] Bellingham."
Ex-England striker Daniel Sturridge also weighed in, adding: "England are too talented to sit back after scoring, we got away with it last game but paid for it this game. Our best defense is to attack."
Your turn! How should England line up against Slovenia? Join the debate in the comments section
Trent Alexander-Arnold was brought off after 54 minutes against Denmark (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)The Kane debate is in full flow, too, with England's captain and all-time top goalscorer being ruthlessly hooked on 69 minutes, a decision which showed how dissatisfied Southgate was with his all-round display against the Danes. "I want to see Ollie Watkins in place of Harry Kane in the next match against Slovenia," one fan declared. "But Southgate will not take bold call."
Another followed up by saying: "Harry Kane has always been the most important player for England but he should drop this 'false nine' thing or have Watkins starting. He keeps occupying the same space as the no. 10."
A deflated Kane even suggested post-match that England are getting their tactics wrong under Southgate, admitting to BBC Sport : "I think we're struggling both with and without the ball. 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."
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As for Southgate's verdict, he confessed: "There's a huge amount of work, that's evident from the two performances we've given and we've got to be tight. We understand people will be disappointed with the performances and rightly so and we've got to make them better."
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