Jawad Iqbal Jawad Iqbal

It’s hard to see why England are Euro 2024 favourites

England's defender Kieran Trippier playing in the match against Denmark (Credit: Getty images)

Tonight’s England game against Denmark at the Frankfurt Arena should be made compulsory viewing for those who blindly insist that this group of players under manager Gareth Southgate are favourites to win the Euros. No one can surely continue to believe such nonsense after yet another utterly toothless and dire display of footballing cluelessness. The match ended as a 1-1 draw but make no mistake: England were a shambles.

The team showed all the familiar failings we have come to expect from them playing at major tournaments under Southgate. Brilliant and talented footballers, who regularly excel for their clubs, are reduced to shadows of themselves under Southgate’s tutelage. The team was simply bereft of direction, ambition and leadership. Worryingly, the captain Harry Kane looked utterly lost, almost as if he didn’t know what he was being asked to do in this team. His performance was so poor that, on the BBC, pundits Micah Richards and Rio Ferdinand both called for Harry Kane to be taken off.

Written by
Jawad Iqbal

Jawad Iqbal is a broadcaster and ex-television news executive. Jawad is a former Visiting Senior Fellow in the Institute of Global Affairs at the LSE

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