Eni Aluko believes Harry Kane is somewhat "playing for himself" at Euro 2024, as she urged the England captain to stay upfield rather than dropping deep.
Kane, who scored in England's 1-1 draw with Denmark, has been starved of opportunities so far, with the Three Lions' attack struggling to spark.
The Bayern Munich forward, who scored 44 goals for the Bundesliga giants across all competitions in 2023-24, has had eight shots at the tournament, accumulating 1.06 expected goals (xG).
And former Lioness Aluko, who is a pundit for ITV Sport, suggested Kane, who has managed just 10 touches in the opposition box in total, is dropping too deep, to the detriment of Gareth Southgate's team.
Speaking to Stats Perform at the Home of Adidas football in Berlin, Aluko said: "I have to preface everything I'm about to say by saying Kane is one of the greatest players we've ever seen for England, greatest goal scorers, but I think this tournament has made me realise that he sort of plays for himself a little bit.
"I don't think this is a new conversation about Kane dropping deep I remember doing the World Cup two years ago and having this same conversation. So at some point, I think Harry has to realise that it's not actually helping the team coming in, dropping deep, trying to play as a midfielder when we've got such talented midfielders who can do that.
"I know as a forward, a big part of that role is discipline. A big part of the position is keeping the pitch high, stretching the pitch so that you allow pockets for other people and trusting that they're going to get it to you.
"So I would just like to see Harry play for the team a little bit more. It sounds crazy because it's Harry Kane but I think at this point in his career he must know that it's actually not the best thing for the team to keep dropping in so I'd like to see a little bit more discipline from him."
Kane has been among the England players to hit out at the criticism the team has received from some of those in the media.
Aluko added: "I think as a pundit I always look at it from a very objective point of view. You can critique something and say these are the stats, these are the numbers, this is what I think without being personal.
"That's quite an easy balance to strike, to be honest. I never go into games going, I'm going to go right in on that player. It doesn't serve me to do that. So I think that we have a responsibility as pundits who've been there.
"Part of the reason why we're on these panels and we're talking about football is because we've been in those positions to understand that it's not easy and it's easier said than done.
"I've seen it gone a bit too far and I like to see the players, to be honest, bite back a little bit. I used to do that as a player a little bit, bite back. But ultimately, the players' right of reply is on the pitch.
"There's no need to try and get soundbites and all that stuff. That's not really our job. Our job is to analyse what's in front of us, critique what's in front of us, use data, stats, to paint a picture for the audience back home to go right. Show people why it's not good rather than sort of get into individuals and get personal."
England face Slovakia in the last 16 on Sunday.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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