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24th June 2024
02:35pm BST
Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer have today issued a response to Harry Kane after the England captain said to "remember what it's like to wear the shirt".
After the drab Denmark draw, Kane stated that the England side need to be "backed as much as possible", however Lineker and Shearer branded his post-match comments as "worrying" and "concerning".
The pair on their podcast The Rest is Football also took a swipe at journalists present in Germany, suggesting that they are "not being brave enough to ask their own questions", instead using the opinions of pundits.
Lineker then went on to say: "Could you imagine if we went on and said, ‘Well, actually, I thought they played really well’? We’d be lying, for a start. Because they didn’t play well. And Harry knows they didn’t play well.
“I understand where he says, ‘But they have responsibilities being ex-England players and they should know, they know what it’s like, it’s not like they’ve ever won anything’, or words to that effect.
“Fine. And he’s absolutely right. But I will say one thing, the last thing in the world we want to be is downbeat and critical. We want the England team to perform well on the pitch. The best punditry of all is when England play well and we’re excited and we’re enthusiastic about them.
“We don’t want to be critical but we have to be sometimes. We have to say it.”
Responding to Kane's remarks, Sheared added: “It might have been that word ‘s---’.
“The simple and easiest thing is, have England played well, or did they play well, in that game against Denmark? No, we were terrible. So, we have to say that. If England are brilliant, we’ll say they’re brilliant. That’s just the way it is.”
Then, the pair went on to speak about England's "confusion" on the pitch regarding playing against three-man defences.
Shearer said: “The draw’s been made for a while now, so I’m sure they’ve been planning to play against a three. So, even those words were slightly worrying, I guess. But you always get the right of reply as players and the team. You go to the next game, you win the game, and you just carry on and move on. That’s tournament football.”
Lineker replied: “The comments behind it all, it suggests a lack of tactical nous. If a player’s saying, ‘We’re a bit confused’, that is concerning.”
England face Slovenia on Tuesday June 25th in their final group stage game.
