Gary Lineker says England’s players look like ‘lost souls’ under Gareth Southgate as he refuses to let up on the under-fire manager, after calling his team ‘s***’ in Euros group stage

Former England captains Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer were far from impressed with Sunday’s 2-1 win over Slovakia in the last 16 of Euro 2024.

Gareth Southgate’s side managed just two shots on target during the gruelling two-hour match in Gelsenkirchen.

The first goal came in the fifth minute of added time, when Jude Bellingham’s stunning equaliser saved England from a humiliating defeat.

Current captain Harry Kane then headed in the winning goal after England’s only other attempted shot on target in 51 seconds of extra time.

Lineker introduced the Monday morning edition of his podcast, The rest is footballby revealing how Shearer had struggled to contain his frustration while watching the match.

Former England captain Alan Shearer found Sunday’s match terribly frustrating to watch

Lineker said that at one point Shearer was ‘so annoyed’ that he left the room after declaring: ‘I have to walk, I have to walk’.

According to Lineker, Shearer then let out a loud scream from another room.

Shearer confirmed the story, replying, “It was just desperation, it was desperate. They were so bad it wasn’t true.”

Shearer continued: ‘They were miles off, miles off. They’re nowhere near what we had hoped and expected from England. We’re all waiting to improve and get better, for that spark.’

Later in the episode, Lineker described the England players as ‘lost souls’.

He stressed that their efforts and dedication could not be questioned, but said they were clearly struggling to adapt to a tactical style that was ‘alien’ to the way most of them play for their clubs.

Gary Lineker, another former England skipper, said the Three Lions players looked ‘like lost souls’

England manager Gareth Southgate seemed relieved after Sunday’s narrow victory

‘You look at the quality of players that England actually have at their disposal,’ Lineker moaned. ‘But you have to get something out of them.

“I look at it now and I see a team that looks like lost souls. I don’t think they really know what they’re supposed to do, or what their roles are, or how the team is supposed to play.

‘I’m sure they’ve heard it, but the question is whether they believe in it. They play in a kind of format or style that is foreign to most of them, because most of them play high pressing, dynamic, electric short passing football [for their clubs].

‘We didn’t see that. So I actually sympathize with the players a bit. You can see that they are doing their best. They run, hunt and do all those things. There is absolutely no lack of effort or dedication, but they look a little lost.”