Joe Cole warns England NEED to be braver and claims Gareth Southgate’s side have ‘lost their way’

Former Chelsea star Joe Cole has said England ‘need to be braver’ when Gareth Southgate’s side fell to a 1-0 Nations League defeat to Italy.

In a rematch of last year’s European Championship final, England seemed to lack inspiration for the future and the first half ended goalless.

While the home side will not be present in the upcoming World Cup after failing to qualify, it was Roberto Mancini’s team that broke the deadlock in 68 minutes via Napoli forward Giacomo Raspadori.

England were ultimately unable to regain control of the game from their opponents and the game ended with another disappointing result in the competition for Southgate’s team.

Speaking on Channel 4 after the game, Cole outlined what he believes are the key issues within the England squad:

“That’s how we started the game. The Italians were on it and we didn’t get close to them. The problems that keep popping up.

“These guys have the ability. They are top players. Jude Bellingham, a 19-year-old, was our best player tonight. But that’s unacceptable with the quality we have because they can do it.’

But Joe Cole praised Jude Bellingham’s performance in the 1-0 defeat at San Siro

The 40-year-old won 56 caps for England and confirmed his starting spot at the 2006 World Cup in Germany after impressing in the games leading up to the tournament.

Cole realized how crucial it can be to make a good impression ahead of a big game and outlined the importance of England’s last game before the tournament against Germany.

“It puts enormous pressure on the game. It’s the last game we play as a group before we get to Qatar. There’s personality, there’s character in this group, but they’ve lost their way in the last five or six games. They can find it. Gareth Southgate must find a way to stimulate this group next week.”

Cole also stressed the importance of England showing themselves better in their final game before the World Cup

Cole was not the only former international to share his views on the team’s disappointing performance in Milan.

The result marks England’s relegation from their Nations League group, and Matthew Upson said the result only further articulates the problems within the team at the moment.

“The word ‘relegation’ right now for this group of players is just rubbing salt in the wounds. It’s about the achievement or lack of performance as a team by being able to be creative, cohesive and learning with that kind of movement and it will pass. Things aren’t going very smoothly at the moment.

“I thought the distances and the angles, especially in large areas, weren’t quite right. They didn’t pull each other into the right angles and didn’t create that space. The movement wasn’t there.’ The former West Ham star explained on 5 Live.