England and Gareth Southgate have been torn apart by the European press following their 0-0 draw with Slovenia at the 2024 European Championship.
On a night where fans longed for inspiration and hope against a country ranked below Scotland, the Three Lions fell flat, lacking ingenuity and enthusiasm.
With last-16 football secured, England have once again been thrown into the pressure cooker of criticism.
Spanish newspaper Marca claimed that ‘you can’t play worse’ than England and believed they would improve if they sacked Southgate and installed Pep Guardiola midway through the tournament.
Marca lists England’s attacking talent before concluding that Southgate ‘didn’t get any of them to play well’, making for a ‘dismal’ performance against Slovenia.
The European press has torn England after Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Slovenia
Marca asks ‘what the fuck is wrong with Gareth Southgate?’ while Bild claims: ‘You start to wonder what his plan actually is!’
According to Marca, appointing Pep Guardiola could be ‘worth it’ for England midway through the tournament
Further on they ask a strongly worded question: ‘What the hell is going on with Gareth Southgate?’
Marca really can’t understand why Cole Palmer is being kept ‘completely anonymous’ – his 19 minutes against Slovenia were his first at the 2024 Euros.
They praised the decision to bring in Kobbie Mainoo for Conor Gallagher as he brought ‘dynamism and a great personality’, but felt his ‘ceiling is below that of Trent Alexander-Arnold.’
In Germany, England was even more fiercely criticized by newspaper and television pundits.
Exhaust pipe Image England belittled England, arguing that ‘these lions are kittens’ and claiming that ‘the criticism will only get worse’, with a dim view of their prospects.
Along the way, they handed out some damning ratings. Bild scores players and managers from one to six, with six being the worst possible score. Seven people got a five, and only Declan Rice even got three.
Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Conor Gallagher, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker and Southgate were all given a humiliating five rating.
Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Kobbie Mainoo and Cole Palmer did not fare much better on four.
Jude Bellingham was given the second lowest possible rating by Bild and was criticized for his ‘uncharacteristic’ performance
Phil Foden had ‘too little influence on the game’ in the eyes of Bild, despite his move to number 10
Southgate was torn by a long-standing reproach when Bild wrote: ‘You begin to wonder what his plan really is!’
They called the performance ‘frightening’ and ‘lack of control’ and criticized Southgate for moving Bellingham to the left wing in the second half.
However, they did give credit for a revival after half-time and praised it for keeping a clean sheet.
Meanwhile, Bellingham was smeared as ‘very pale’ and ‘uncharacteristic’ with his ‘poor passing’.
Bild felt Foden had ‘too little influence on the game’ – despite operating through the middle for part of the second half – and that Saka had ‘little chance to make an impression’.
Gallagher’s audition to replace Alexander-Arnold in the knockout rounds couldn’t have gone much worse, and he was taken off the field at half-time.
Bild wrote about him: ‘He disappeared completely, seemed restless and lost the ball during the match.’
Elsewhere, expert Christoph Kramer stormed into Southgate on broadcaster ZDF.
German pundit Christoph Kramer said Southgate ‘couldn’t possibly have a plan in his head!’
He said: ‘What bothers me about Southgate is that I compare him to Julian Nagelsmann: Nagelsmann has a plan in his head.
“If it doesn’t work, he stands there and tries to change it. You can see that in his facial expressions and his gestures. Southgate can’t possibly have a plan in his head!
‘Because he lets the game play out as it happens and just sits there. Normally as a coach you have a clear idea and if it doesn’t work you panic. You try to give something to your players.
‘He doesn’t do that at all. I find that so strange. He just lets this world-class team play. After the first half we saw from England we thought: nothing is happening!
“If you don’t have good in-game coaching, then you have to at least change something for the next game.
‘But he doesn’t change anything! He simply sends the elf into the race. It doesn’t matter who plays the game.
‘I feel sorry for some of them. They are sent there. You can have as many players as you want. If you’re sent to a match like that, you don’t have a chance.’