England manager Gareth Southgate has admitted the team are yet to hit top form despite a lack of promising results so far in their opening two Euro 2024 matches.
In Group C, England were held to a 1-1 draw by Denmark on Thursday. Earlier they managed to beat Serbia 1-0.
The 53-year-old Englishman acknowledged England’s not-so-impressive performance.
Harry Kane’s first-half strike was canceled out by Morten Hulmand’s long-range strike, leaving England’s attacking acumen in check.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed with the level of the two performances we’ve had, so we’ve got to go and analyze it in depth and find some solutions to address the issues we’ve got,” Southgate said, speaking to the press. conference on Friday.
“We know the bar can be higher. Maybe the biggest thing is we have to accept the environment we’re in and the expectations that are around us. Right now, they’re a little short of that.”
He emphasized his role in improving the team’s performance, saying, “Ultimately, that’s my responsibility. I’m the manager and I have to guide this team in the best way possible to achieve great things.”
Southgate pointed to the absence of key players as a factor in the squad’s imbalance, particularly left-back Luke Shaw. He praised the contributions of Kieran Trippier, stating: “Tripps has done an incredible job for the team. His spirit, his organisation, his desire, have helped us get over the line in the last two games.”
Despite pitch problems in Frankfurt, where Kyle Walker had to change boots early on, Southgate refused to blame external factors for the poor performance. “We cannot justify the level of performance,” he observed.
England currently lead Group C with four points and are poised to reach the knockout stages. They next face Slovenia, while Denmark will face Serbia.
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