Former England strikers Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer have defended their criticism of the Three Lions' "terrible" displays at Euro 2024 after Harry Kane said pundits should be more supportive.
England have four points ahead of their final Group C fixture against Slovenia, though they were uninspired as they laboured to a 1-0 win over Serbia and a 1-1 draw with Denmark.
Their performance in the latter match was fiercely criticised, with Lineker describing the display as "s***" on his 'The Rest is Football' podcast.
England captain Kane hit back at those comments on Sunday, pointing out ex-players like Lineker failed to win international silverware and telling them to be more "helpful".
On Monday's edition of the podcast, Lineker said of Kane's response: "I thought he answered it fine.
"There was one bit there where he says we have responsibilities as ex-England players, that we should know better and that we never won anything or words to that effect.
"Fine, he's absolutely right. But I will say one thing; the last thing in the world we want to be is downbeat and critical.
"We want the England team to perform well on the pitch. The best punditry of all is when England play well."
Shearer was also scathing of Gareth Southgate's team after the Denmark game and has refused to back down, saying: "It's important we never get personal. That's the most important thing.
"They were terrible and we have to say that. If England were brilliant we'd say they were brilliant, that's the way it is.
"As a player you always get the right of reply on the pitch. I have no problem with what we said, I wouldn't take anything back we said.
"England were really poor. I think the vast majority of the country, and even the boys in the squad, will know they were awful against Denmark. There were hardly any positives."
Manning, daCosta Cup matches for Saturday postponed as referees withdraw services
All 30 games scheduled across the ISSA Manning and daCosta Cup competitions scheduled for Saturday have been called off due to referees refusing to work.
ISSA Competitions Officer Euan Scott confirmed the postponement of games scheduled for today.
Referees have opted to take strike action in relation to a pair of incidents that occurred in the daCosta Cup over the last few weeks.
One incident occurred during a game between Dinthill Technical and McGrath High last Saturday when a referee was involved in a confrontation with Dinthill players Maalick Whyte, Shamair Hutchinson and Tyrese Gowe after the game.
The referee was then allegedly physically assaulted by one of the players.
In a release on Thursday, after a meeting of its disciplinary committee, ISSA revealed that Whyte and Hutchinson have been banned from participating in any ISSA-run competitions for one year, effective September 26, 2024 while Gowe was hit with the three-match suspension.
The Linstead-based school was also placed on a three-year probation and faces the possibility of suspension should its players breach the disciplinary code of conduct within the period of probation.
The other incident occurred on September 14 when assistant referee Richard Ball allegedly was struck in the chest by a missile thrown from a group of spectators during a Zone A daCosta Cup game between Maldon High and Cornwall College.
Attempts by Sportsmax.tv to contact ISSA President Keith Wellington proved futile.
Everton 2-1 Crystal Palace: McNeil's brace secures first win of the season
Dwight McNeil’s brace secured Everton’s first three points of the Premier League season, as Sean Dyche's team completed a comeback of their own in a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Amid news of a new takeover attempt at Everton during the week, the hosts also provided renewed hope on the pitch, as they continued their fine form against Palace at Goodison Park.
Marc Guehi gave the visitors an early lead, poking home at the near post, seeming to signal the continuation of Everton’s woes.
But Dyche’s side rallied after the break, with McNeil hitting the back of the net with a delightful long-range strike in the 47th minute before adding a second at the far post just seven minutes later.
Abdoulaye Doucoure had the opportunity to put the game to bed 10 minutes from the end as Dominic Calvert-Lewin set him through on goal, but a last-ditch challenge from Lacroix spared Palace’s blushes.
The win lifts Everton out of the relegation zone and into 16th, leapfrogging their opponents, who drop to 17th.
Data Debrief: Dyche's men comeback against the odds
Having dropped points from a winning position in their last three matches, Everton's win was the first time they had picked up three points after trailing at half-time in the Premier League since 19th May 2022 against the same opponents.
Meanwhile, it is the first time Crystal Palace have lost an away game after leading at half-time in the Premier League since August 2022 against Manchester City.
It leaves the visitors without a win in their last six games in the Premier League. Their last longer winless streak was from 11 November 2023 to 27 December 2023, a run of eight games.
Wolves 1-2 Liverpool: Salah spot-kick sends Reds top of Premier League
Liverpool moved to the top of the Premier League table as Mohamed Salah's penalty handed them a 2-1 victory over Wolves at Molineux.
Manchester City's 1-1 draw at Newcastle United earlier on Saturday handed Arne Slot's Reds a chance to go top, and Salah hit the winner from the spot after Nelson Semedo fouled former Wolves man Diogo Jota.
Ibrahima Konate had nodded Liverpool into the lead before his mistake at the other end allowed Rayan Ait-Nouri to briefly draw Wolves level early in the second half.
Wolves never looked likely to equalise for a second time as their wait for a first win of the season continued, with Liverpool going close to a third goal on a couple of occasions late on.
Wolves kept Liverpool quiet throughout the first half only to see their resolve broken in stoppage time, Sam Johnstone failing to keep out Konate's header after Jota crossed from the left.
Konate went from Liverpool hero to villain as Wolves levelled soon after the restart, though. A mix-up between him and Alisson allowed Jorgen Strand Larsen to steal possession, with his cutback eventually turned home by Ait-Nouri.
But within three minutes of the equaliser, Semedo pulled Jota back to concede a penalty, which Salah confidently dispatched for the winner, with Wolves wilting from then on.
While the result took Liverpool one point clear of City and Arsenal at the summit, Wolves remain rooted to the bottom with just one point from six matches.
Data Debrief: Salah punishes sloppy Wolves
Salah was kept quiet for the most part at Molineux, but there was never any doubt about the outcome when he stepped up for Liverpool's 61st-minute spot-kick.
Salah now has eight goal involvements in six Premier League games this term (four goals, four assists), a tally only bettered by Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer, who have 10 apiece after the latter scored four first-half goals for Chelsea on Saturday.
The Egyptian has also scored in three successive away games in the competition for the first time since October 2021, when he enjoyed a run of five straight road matches with a goal.
It was Semedo's error that gave Salah the chance to snatch the points from the spot, and since his Premier League debut in September 2020, only Matty Cash (six) has conceded more penalties in the competition than his five.
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