- England played out a 0-0 draw against Scotland in Group D
- The Three Lions’ performance elicited harsh reactions from England fans online who were critical of Southgate’s team selection
- England are second in Group D with four points, level on points with Czech Republic
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England football fans did not hold back in their criticism for Gareth Southgate after a drab performance saw them draw 0-0 against Scotland on Friday, June 18.
Source: UGC
This was the first meeting between the two nations at a major tournament since Euro ’96 but it did not exactly live up to the hype, with only 22,500 fans in attendance.
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Plaudits will have to go to Scotland on the day, who were superb in containing The Three Lions for large parts of the game.
England were so poor that the final whistle was met with jeers from irate fans who did not appreciate the performance on the day.
Notably, striker Harry Kane played like a shadow of his Tottenham self as he managed just 19 touches before being substituted in the 74th minute.
England’s best chance came when John Stones headed Mason Mount’s header against the woodwork.
Arguably, Scotland had the better chances once they eventually settled down as they forced an excellent goal-line clearance from Reece James while Stephen O’Donnell’s effort was kept out by Jordan Pickford.
After the match, fans took to social media to fault Southgate for what they termed a ‘disasterclass’ in a game they were expected to cruise.
Notably, they were critical of the fact that the gaffer decided to bench the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish.
One of the most vocal criticisms from professionals came from former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, who blatantly asked, “What is he [Southgate] taking Foden off for? There’s no way Phil Foden should be leaving the pitch today, for me.”
“It’s very disappointing to see. You’ve got someone like Jadon Sancho on the bench. 15 goals and 20 assists a season – and he doesn’t even get on. We need to create,” Wright analysed as seen on ITV.
Here are some reaction from fans:
“Southgate robbed us of seeing 2 masterclasses tonight
“Thank god Mason is kept well away from Southgate
“A draw vs Czech Rep and Southgate’s England finishes second in the group to avoid facing the likes of Portugal/Germany/France in R16. The man with plan right here
Southgate, after the game, spoke on his decision to take of Harry Kane where he claimed he wanted to inject energy to his side.
“The games are intense and you have fresh legs to bring into play,” explained Southgate. “We have a squad and have to use it. We took the captain Harry Kane off, but the types of players on the bench, we have to use them.”
In the other match, Croatia and Czech Republic played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in a result that leaves Group D wide open ahead of the final round of matches.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported Gary Lineker has encouraged Kylian Mbappe to be like Cristiano Ronaldo rather than Lionel Messi, Squawka.
The England legend claims Mbappe might fall shirt if he tries to emulate the Argentine because “Messi do things that others simply can’t.”
The Paris Saint-Germain star has already proven himself to be one of the candidates for the Ballon d’Or award in the future.
Source: Legit
