Ex-England forward Wayne Rooney says that the Three Lions players must take the blame for the team’s performance against Denmark.
Former England forward Wayne Rooney has said that the Three Lions players must take the blame for the team’s performance in Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Denmark.
Harry Kane sent England ahead in the Group C fixture, finishing into the back of the net from close range after Kyle Walker had broken into a dangerous position.
However, a thumping strike from Morten Hjulmand levelled the scores, and Denmark appeared to be the superior outfit for long stages of the clash in Frankfurt.
Head coach Gareth Southgate has been widely criticised for his tactics this summer, but Rooney has ‘put the performance on the players’.
“I think it was a flat performance, there wasn’t energy or balance in the team,” Rooney told BBC Sport. “I’m putting it on the players as well. If Harry Kane says he didn’t know what to do after the game [that’s a problem]. The players have to take responsibility.”
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Rooney critical of England players
However, Manchester United’s all-time record goalscorer also urged Southgate to make changes moving forward, with Anthony Gordon potentially being introduced into the side.
“When the squad was announced I wondered where do you fit Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden into the same team, and I think that’s shown,” he added.
“For me [Southgate] should be playing Bellingham a little bit deeper and give Foden the freedom. I’d really like to see Anthony Gordon in there. I love Trent Alexander-Arnold as a player, but in midfield there’s better options.
“I think for Gareth and Steve Holland I’m pretty sure they’re working on a gameplan. Gareth’s got a chance now to reassess, I hope he makes a couple of changes to get us back on the front foot.
“You can’t go into a major tournament and say you’re experimenting. That is a strong word to say. If England don’t go far in this competition, [Southgate] might regret that.”
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Rooney would have taken Henderson to Euro 2024
Rooney has also claimed that he would have taken Jordan Henderson to Euro 2024 despite the midfielder’s struggles during the 2023-24 campaign.
The 34-year-old left Liverpool for Al Ettifaq last summer, but he struggled to settle in Saudi Arabia and made the move to Dutch giants Ajax in the middle of January.
“You want to go and press the ball, you need voices behind,” Rooney added. “So Harry [Kane] needs voices behind to tell them to keep it one way and obviously what you’ve worked on.
“And I said before the tournament, I think I would have taken Jordan him because you haven’t got that experience in the middle of the pitch. But he’s also a voice. Harry’s not the most vocal, and he doesn’t speak as much as he probably should.
“But I think just having Jordan Henderson there… a bit more bit of experience in there and a voice around the camp because they are very inexperienced.”
England remain in a commanding position at the top of Group C and will be looking to secure their spot in the knockout round of the competition when they tackle Slovenia on Tuesday night.
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