England were 'awful, sloppy, fatigued, lifeless and tepid' against Denmark say the pundits as they put the boot into Gareth Southgate's hapless team

Pundits including erstwhile England footballers slammed the squad arsenic 'awful' and 'sloppy' arsenic they were held to a frustrating 1-1 gully by Denmark astatine Euro 2024.

England were besides described arsenic 'fatigued', 'lifeless' and 'tepid' aft struggling to enforce themselves successful their 2nd Group C outing successful Frankfurt, Germany.

Among those hitting retired astatine the players was erstwhile England skipper Alan Shearer who said helium felt determination was 'no excuse' for a show that lacked energy.

Shearer, moving for the BBC, said: 'You tin spot players lying connected their backs - they look perfectly shattered, the England players. There's nary excuse for that.

'There was nary energy, nary gait to the game. We didn't tally successful down until the past 10 oregon 15 minutes, we got caught excessively galore times connected the ball, excessively galore sloppy passes and successful truth, Denmark were the amended squad and deserved to win.

'It was precise poor, it wasn't bully enough. I wouldn't accidental deficiency of effort, not trying, but there's truthful overmuch much to travel from those players.'

Shearer, 53, added: 'Awful performance, peculiarly aft going up successful the game.'

Harry Kane's opener astatine the Frankfurt Arena was cancelled retired by a good onslaught from Denmark's Morten Hjulmand.

And erstwhile England defender Rio Ferdinand bemoaned the tactics adopted by manager Gareth Southgate.

Asked astir the performance, Ferdinand said: 'Lacklustre, lacked immoderate benignant of absorption successful my eyes, tactically good beneath par - we were overshadowed tactically, I thought, by the Denmark team.

'You person to springiness them that respect, they were well-drilled, tactically superior, pressed america better, pressed america together.

'I thought England looked precise average. Our champion players, our astir decisive players, our champion players (are) astatine the apical of the transportation and we take to acceptable up to defend.

'We've got excessively bully players to beryllium backmost and anticipation to get done a game. We request to get to the bottommost of, are they being told to bash this, oregon are the players really conscionable being forced to bash that by the opposition?'

BBC big Gary Lineker branded the show 'lifeless and tepid'.

And Jamie Carragher told the Daily Telegraph: 'My large interest watching this and for the remainder of the tournament? England look perfectly knackered. They can't get adjacent to the ball. The surest motion of fatigue is dropping deep.'

Meanwhile Roy Keane told ITV: 'Courage and bravery, we're not truly seeing it. There's thing amiss with the balance. Bellingham is waving his arms. This is simply a large trial for Gareth. It looks similar he's overthinking things.'

It comes aft boos greeted the last whistle arsenic England missed the accidental to apical their European Championship radical with a crippled to spare.

Serbia's precocious equaliser against Slovenia successful the aboriginal kick-off meant the Euro 2020 runners-up knew a triumph would spot them done to the circular of 16 arsenic Group C winners.

But Hjulmand's thumping onslaught cancelled retired Kane's archetypal group-stage extremity since 2018 arsenic England fumbled their accidental astatine aboriginal progress.

Southgate's enactment and the underwhelming all-round squad show volition beryllium pored implicit successful infinitesimal item earlier facing Slovenia adjacent Tuesday.

England started with the aforesaid squad that bushed Serbia and, yet again, took an aboriginal lead, this clip done skipper Kane aft Kyle Walker caught Victor Kristiansen napping.

But, arsenic successful Gelsenkirchen, they wobbled aft going up and Hjulmand's belting 30-yard changeable successful disconnected the ft of a station saw their Euro 2020 semi-final opponents level.

Both sides had chances to triumph it, with Phil Foden hitting a station earlier being withdrawn arsenic portion of a bold triple substitution that failed to spark an betterment successful a level England performance.

England fans fto their displeasure beryllium known astatine Deutsche Bank Park, wherever the mediocre playing aboveground forced Walker into an aboriginal alteration of boots.

When the vice-captain returned helium played the shot successful to Foden to crook distant from his antheral and get distant a onslaught during a cagey start, which came to beingness aft a Danish antiaircraft error.

Kristiansen was truthful acrophobic by Bukayo Saka's beingness that Walker managed to prime his pouch connected the outside, driving guardant and seeing a debased transverse ricochet into way of Kane to slot location from adjacent range.

Denmark's effect to the 18th-minute opener was arsenic awesome arsenic England's was alarming.

While Southgate's men were defending the container well, they were allowing the Scandinavians excessively overmuch abstraction extracurricular it and their unit told successful the 34th minute.

Kane swept a walk from a throw-in into nary man's land, with Hjulmand passed the shot and continuing to deed a beauteous onslaught from 30 yards that bushed Jordan Pickford and crashed successful disconnected a post.

The reddish hordes roared arsenic England continued to invitation pressure, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg denied betwixt Foden chances.

Kane raised his arms successful vexation aft the archetypal of those openings, having seen the guardant instrumentality a tame changeable alternatively than gaffe him successful astatine the extremity of a stunning run.

Declan Rice saw a deflected thrust held and Saka bravely headed into the side-netting aboriginal successful the 2nd half, which was lone 9 minutes aged erstwhile Southgate turned to his bench.

The ineffective Trent Alexander-Arnold was replaced by regular midfielder Conor Gallagher arsenic England sought to get a grip connected proceedings.

Southgate held his caput successful his hands erstwhile a debased 25-yard Foden onslaught cracked a post, with Saka flashing the shot crossed the look of extremity aft Gallagher made an important involution astatine the different end.

But England's play became nervier arsenic the crippled wore on, with Southgate introducing a new-look beforehand 3 of Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze and Ollie Watkins successful spot of Foden, Saka and Kane.

It was a bold determination with astir 20 minutes remaining and astir paid contiguous dividends, with Watkins enactment successful down by Bellingham and forcing Schmeichel into a prevention from a choky angle.

But the changes did not spark a noticeable upturn and Denmark looked astir apt to snatch a winner.

Hojbjerg seemed hopeless to people from region and a superb Marc Guehi betterment tackle stopped a unsafe Alexander Bah cross.

England looked blessed with a constituent arsenic the timepiece coiled down - a presumption that their fans successful Frankfurt surely did not share.

After the game, Southgate admitted England were struggling to header with the pressure.

'Look, clearly, we're disappointed with the 2 performances we've had,' said the under-fire England boss, who has to refocus connected Tuesday's radical finale against Slovenia.

'We've got to spell and analyse that successful extent and find immoderate solutions to addressing the issues that we have. Over the adjacent fewer days we'll walk a batch of clip doing that.

'We cognize the level has to beryllium higher, we cognize the level tin beryllium higher.

'Maybe the biggest happening is we person to judge the situation that we're successful and the expectations that are astir us. We are going to person to locomotion towards that challenge.

'At the infinitesimal we're falling a small spot abbreviated of that. Ultimately that's my responsibility. I'm the manager and I've got to usher this radical successful the champion mode possible.

'To execute bonzer things, you person to spell done immoderate hard moments. Today was a hard infinitesimal without a doubt, towards the extremity of the crippled especially.

'But England person ne'er won back-to-back qualification matches (to commencement the Euros) I was told yesterday, truthful there's a crushed for that and we hoped to constitute a antithetic communicative today. We haven't managed that.

'We recognize what that volition mean for the adjacent fewer days, but we person to enactment calm wrong the radical and find bully solutions to amended it.'

Harry Kane besides admitted England were 'struggling' aft they were jeered disconnected the pitch.

Despite being successful a bully presumption to triumph Group C, skipper Kane conceded the broadside person fallen abbreviated successful Germany truthful far.

'I deliberation we're struggling some with and without the ball,' Kane, who was replaced by Ollie Watkins successful the 2nd half, told BBC One.

'I deliberation the unit successful some games hasn't been close and with the shot hasn't been bully enough. Everyone's dropping beneath their levels a small bit.

'It was pugnacious retired there, but we're calm. It wasn't our top game, but we got distant with a point.'