England captain Harry Kane believes everyone is dropping below their levels following the disappointing 1-1 draw with Denmark.
The Three Lions headed into the game knowing a win would see them qualify for the knockout stages, but they simply weren’t at the races.
Despite taking the lead through Kane England sat back and were punished when they didn’t close down Morten Hjulmand, who fired a superb strike into the back of the net from outside the box, with neither team able to find a winner.
England drop below their level
Southgate named an unchanged side from the win against Serbia, and even though England took the lead they just looked off the pace and not at the races.
As has become the norm under Southgate, England sat back and dropped deeper and deeper after they scored instead of going for the kill, and were duly punished.
The team looked unbalanced, particularly in midfield where Declan Rice and Trent-Alexander Arnold really struggled, whilst the attack didn’t click with Kane, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka all replaced with 20 minutes to go.
England have come in for a lot of criticism for their performance and Kane acknowledged after the game that everyone had dropped below their level.
“I think we’re struggling both with and without the ball, he told BBC Sport.
“I think the pressure in both games hasn’t been right and with the ball hasn’t been good enough.
“Everyone’s dropping below their levels a little bit. It was tough out there, but we’re calm. It wasn’t our greatest game but we got away with a point.”
England sit top of the group on four points and will almost certainly qualify for the knockout rounds, but their level of performance in the first two games is a real cause for concern, and a much improved showing against Slovenia on Tuesday evening is required.