Harry Kane acknowledged England have fallen short of expectations so far at Euro 2024 but insisted there is no need for panic as he likened their start to that of a boxer or major golfer.
Gareth Southgate's side edged past Serbia in their Group C opener before being held to a disappointing 1-1 draw with Denmark on Thursday.
The Three Lions are still top of their pool and in pole position to qualify as group winners, so long as Southgate's men overcome Slovenia in Cologne on Tuesday.
Yet frustration has been growing from some quarters of supporters and pundits, with Gary Lineker and a host of former players questioning England's underwhelming performances and line-up selection.
England captain Kane understands parts of the scrutiny, though sees no need for concern with their Group C destiny in control.
"Momentum is the right word," the Bayern Munich talisman said at Sunday's pre-match press conference. "I think if you said where we are now before the tournament, you'd pretty much be qualified after two games, we would have taken it for sure.
"But I think we can be honest with ourselves that we haven't played the way we've wanted to play. I think the good sign is that we've still picked up results while doing that.
"Of course, we want to finish top as well and just kind of take that momentum into the knockout stages."
England are averaging 8.9 shots per game at the Euros under Southgate (80 in nine games). Going into Matchday 3 at this tournament, that is the lowest shots per game any nation has had under a manager to take charge of them in more than five matches at the European Championship on record (since 1980).
Those numbers make for concerning reading for some of the Three Lions faithful, with Kane accepting England have failed to hit their usual heights in Germany this month.
"I think we dropped below what we know we can," Kane said of the Denmark showing. "But overall, I think we are calm. We have been here before.
"We've got a lot of experience. So it's not a time to panic, but it's a time to try and improve.
"Especially these early stages, it's almost like a boxer in the first couple of rounds, just seeing where everyone's at, seeing how you feel. Or a golfer in a major tournament – okay, it's the first round, don't play yourself out of the tournament; just be calm. And that's kind of where I think where we're at.
"We're looking where we can improve, and of course, we know we can improve, but it's not a time to panic and think we need to change everything.
"We just need a few fine details that I think will help us."
Kane is no stranger to this major-tournament scrutiny either, with England facing similar at Euro 2024 after a group-stage draw with Scotland, before subsequently reaching the final.
"We're in a good place, even though we know we haven't quite reached the levels that we can, but it's been pretty much how it always is," Kane continued.
"I think calm is the most important one. A lot of us have been here and done that and we've given England fans some fantastic times and I know 99% of the fans are fully behind us and fully with us.
"I always say when it's finished there will be people judging us. We've had some good tournaments, we've had some tournaments where we've just fallen short.
"During it, it's down to us as players, as coaching staff, as the whole environment to get it right and find where we can improve."
Arsenal 4-2 Leicester: Gunners strike twice in stoppage time to down Foxes
Arsenal left it late as two goals in second-half stoppage time saw them overcome a resilient Leicester City 4-2 at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Leicester looked set to claim a point against the odds thanks to an unlikely James Justin double in the opening 18 minutes of the second half.
Arsenal had been in complete control in the opening exchanges, with Gabriel Martinelli opening his account for the season with an instinctive finish inside the box.
The Gunners then doubled the hosts' advantage before the break, marking his return from suspension with a goal after firing home Martinelli's cutback.
Yet Justin – whose second was an eye-catching volley – turned the match on its head until Mikel Arteta’s side came good again in the closing stages.
Trossard was again involved, seeing his effort deflect beyond Mads Hermansen by the unfortunate Wilfried Ndidi in the fourth minute of injury-time.
The win was sealed five minutes later, with Justin rounding off his eventful encounter with an unfortunate assist as his attempted clearance cannoned in off Kai Havertz to move Arsenal level on points with Manchester City at the summit.
Data Debrief: Gunners eventually down plucky Foxes
The Gunners are now unbeaten in 40 Premier League home games against promoted sides (W35 D5), winning each of the last 11 in a row.
Arsenal had 36 shots in this match, their joint-most on record (since 2003-04) in a single Premier League game (also 36 v Sunderland in May 2017).
With a goal and an assist, Martinelli has now been involved in 51 Premier League goals for Arsenal (33 goals and 18 assists). Against no side has the Brazilian been involved in more than his five against Leicester (three goals and two assists).
Havertz's late goal also brought up a Premier League milestone, notching his 50th goal involvement (35 goals and 15 assists) in the division, with 24 of those coming in 43 games for the Gunners.
Everton 2-1 Crystal Palace: McNeil's brace secures first win of the season for hosts
Dwight McNeil’s brace secured Everton’s first three points of the Premier League season, completing a comeback of their own in a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Amid speculation of a 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 Sean 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 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 27th August 2022 against Manchester City.
It leaves the visitors without a win in their last 6 games in the Premier League. Their last longer winless streak was from 11th November 2023 to 27th December 2023, a run of 8 games.
Brentford 1-1 West Ham: Soucek goal earns point for Lopetegui's men
Brentford and West Ham shared the points in a keenly-contested London derby as Bryan Mbeumo’s goal was cancelled out by Tomas Soucek in a 1-1 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Mbeumo volleyed home from close range after 38 seconds to give Brentford the perfect start, but the hosts could not build on their advantage and West Ham equalised early in the second half.
Soucek’s goal for the visitors came after 54 minutes following some intricate play around the penalty area.
Both sides spent the rest of the second half searching for a winner, but one was not forthcoming.
The point leaves Brentford 12th in the Premier League table, while West Ham are two places below them in 14th.
Data Debrief: Brentford break Premier League record with successive early goals
Brentford have become the first side in Premier League history to score in the first minute in three successive matches.
16 of Soucek’s last 17 Premier League goals for West Ham have either drawn them level (5) or put them one goal ahead (11) in the match.
More worryingly for Thomas Frank, Brentford have dropped more points from winning positions than any other Premier League side since the start of last season (38), with their eight so far this term a joint-high with Everton.
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