Sloppy England struggle against energetic Denmark

If Gareth Southgate has already warned his players to ignore criticism, he’s going to need to lock them away in Erfurt after this.

- MIGUEL DELANEY

This was a 1-1 that meant a lot more than failing to win this match. It raises the biggest questions yet over whether England can even come close to winning this tournament.

Almost nothing about the team works right now. If that seems harsh – given they have four points and are still on course to top the group – it is about how Southgate has currently made this team so much less than the sum of its parts.

The biggest problem is in midfield, which admittedly isn’t new and has been a long-term issue. The concern is how Southgate has so far compounded it. Why persist with the Trent Alexander Arnold experiment, when it obviously didn’t work? Why keep him on at half-time, only to change it minutes later?

Southgate then himself veered drastically from that hesitancy to an unusually bold move. He hauled off the entire front three of Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, and – most amazingly – goal scorer Harry Kane.

There may yet be echoes of Graham Taylor taking off Gary Lineker at Euro ’92, depending on how this tournament goes. A lot needs to change. Much bolder moves are going to be needed, and Southgate is going to have to stop being concerned with leaving out some of his biggest names. A balanced, integrated team is much more important.

That was what was so significant about that decision to take off his frontline. It was an admission that the long build-up to this tournament hadn’t worked. Coaches don’t usually make moves like that because it is too jarring for a team’s tactical ideal. The obvious question from that is “what tactical ideal”?