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Prince William pays England stars visit in dressing room after Denmark display

20 June 2024 , 20:51
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Prince William watched England
Prince William watched England's disappointing draw against Denmark (Image: EURO 2024 News Pool (ENP) - Denmark vs England)

Prince William was among the frustrated faces in England's dressing room in the wake of their disappointing showing against Denmark.

The Duke of Cambridge was in Frankfurt to cheer on Gareth Southgate's side in their second Euro 2024 group clash - but ended the night trying to raise spirits following an abject performance from the Three Lions. There was a major security briefing before William, who is also president of the Football Association, was allowed down to the dressing rooms, while England's stars braced themselves for more scrutiny.

England are still top of Group C with four points from two matches, but the manner of their display has raised serious questions about their credentials as tournament favourites. William, 41, was seen sharing a joke with Danish King Frederik in the stands before kick-off.

But it was the Dane who will be more disappointed with the result as England could - and perhaps should -have lost to Kasper Hjulmand's well-organised outfit. Harry Kane's 18th-minute opener gave England the perfect start but their lead couldn't last as the Three Lions skipper then lost possession before Morten Hjulmand hammered home an equaliser on 34 minutes.

England then lost their way as the likes of Kane, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham faded. Southgate rung the changes to try and inject some life into his team - replacing Kane, Foden and Saka in a bold triple substitution.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold had already been replaced by Conor Gallagher on a night when his midfield experiment again failed to produce results. The introduction of Ollie Watkins provided some spark and the Aston Villa man might well have won it for England when he forced a save from Kasper Schmeichel late on.

But England instead still have work to do in their final group outing against Slovenia on Tuesday. Full-back Kyle Walker defended England's performance after the game.

"It's tournament football. This is a good Denmark team. We're top of the group, let's try and take the positives from this game.We've not lost. We've conceded a great strike from outside the box. Sometimes you have to take your hat off to good goals. Let's take it as a well-deserved point and move on to the next game."

Prince William pays England stars visit in dressing room after Denmark displayWilliam jokes with Danish King Frederick after the match (PA)

Asked what he'll be telling his team-mates in the dressing room, Walker replied: "They'll know as individuals. We've got another gear, but we haven't lost the game. Everyone wants you to come and steamroll teams three-four nil, that's not football."

England boss Southgate conceded: "Clearly that's not what we would have hoped [for]. We're not using the ball well enough and we have to accept that if you do that you will suffer at times as we have tonight. We know there's another level we have to find."

Meanwhile, Kieran Trippier urged England's supporters "not to panic". "We stay will calm, stay positive and stay together - that is the most important thing," he said.

"We understand the supporters' frustration from the outside, but as a staff and a team we need to stay together. It is tournament football, it is difficult no matter who you play against.

"We know as players we can take it up so many levels. There is no need to panic, the performances we know we can do better. One game left in the group and we look forward to that one."

Darren Wells

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