Gareth Southgate admits England have fallen short of expectations thus far at Euro 2024, bemoaning their failure to find a replacement for Kalvin Phillips in midfield.
Having opened their Group C campaign with an unconvincing 1-0 win over Serbia last week, England failed to clinch top spot with a game to spare as they were pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Denmark on Thursday.
Harry Kane put the Three Lions ahead after 18 minutes, but they soon fell into old habits and sat deeper against a lively Denmark side, who levelled through Morten Hjulmand's ferocious 25-yard strike.
While England remain on course to top Group C, sitting two points clear of Denmark and Slovenia, who they face on matchday three, their performance put Southgate under more scrutiny.
England have attempted just 17 shots – seven of them on target – in their two games at Euro 2024, amassing a total of 1.85 expected goals (xG).
Scotland are the only team to have played two matches and created a lower xG total, amassing just 0.78 in their 5-1 defeat to Germany and a 1-1 draw with Switzerland.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Southgate said: "Clearly, we're disappointed with the level of the two performances we've had, so we've got to go and analyse that in depth and find solutions to addressing the issues we have.
"We know the level can be higher. Maybe the biggest thing is we have to accept the environment that we're in and the expectations that are around us. At the moment, we're falling a little bit short of that.
"Ultimately, that's my responsibility. I'm the manager, and I've got to guide this group in the best way possible to achieve extraordinary things."
Trent Alexander-Arnold came in for particular criticism after retaining his place in midfield, despite no England player bettering his three chances created or five line-breaking passes, even as he was substituted after just 54 minutes.
In their 2-1 extra-time win over Denmark in the Euro 2020 semi-finals, England recorded 31 per cent of their open-play touches in the final third.
That figure was down to 17 per cent on Thursday as they struggled to progress the ball, with 34 per cent of their touches coming in their own third.
Southgate believes the absence of Phillips – who was omitted from the squad after failing to nail down a starting spot with either Manchester City or loan club West Ham – has been a difficult problem to solve.
Asked about Alexander-Arnold's display, Southgate told BBC Sport: "He has had some moments where he has delivered as we thought.
"It’s an experiment. We don't have a natural replacement for Kalvin Phillips. At the moment we're not flowing as we would like.
"At the moment we're not using the ball well enough and have to accept if you do that you will suffer at times, as we have. We know there's another level we have to find."
Neymar should have won five Ballons d'Or, claims Buffon
Neymar should have won the Ballon d'Or five times, so says Gianluigi Buffon.
Italy great Buffon played alongside Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain for a season in 2018-19.
Neymar joined PSG in a world-record transfer from Barcelona in 2017, but was unable to drive the French club to their maiden Champions League trophy.
He left in 2023 to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, but has hardly featured for the Asian giants. He is back on the sidelines due to a hamstring issue, having only just returned from a year-long lay-off after sustaining an anterior crucial ligament (ACL) injury.
Neymar was tipped for greatness when he moved to Europe from Santos, but despite a glittering career, especially at Barcelona, he never has managed to win the Ballon d'Or.
And that is something that upsets his former club-mate Buffon.
"It's hard to pick a rival," Buffon told Corriere della Sera
"I've played against three generations: Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta… Choose one? Neymar.
"For the player he is and the person he is, he should have won five Ballons d'Or."
Even at PSG, Neymar was often overshadowed by Kylian Mbappe.
When Messi joined that deadly duo in 2021, meanwhile, the trio could not have the impact on the European stage that PSG's Qatari owners would have wished for.
Palestine hold South Korea as Japan down China in World Cup qualifying
Son Heung-min scored but South Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.
Tottenham forward Son netted in the 16th minute at Amman International Stadium in Jordan.
That came four minutes after Palestine had taken the lead through Zeid Qunbar.
Yet South Korea could not build on that momentum. Despite finishing with 15 shots, they accumulated only 0.84 expected goals (xG).
South Korea, who are six points clear in qualification Group B, had five shots on target, with Son having four of them, as Palestine held on for a memorable result.
In Group C, Japan consolidated their lead with a 3-1 defeat of China in Xiamen.
Koki Ogawa scored twice, opening the scoring and netting Japan's third.
Ko Itakura put Japan 2-0 up on the stroke of half-time, with Lin Liangming pulling one back for China early in the second half.
The match was briefly disrupted as some spectators ran onto the pitch.
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
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