Harry Kane says England's drab draw with Denmark will be a distant memory if the Three Lions go on to succeed at Euro 2024, with no "straight line" to success.
Gareth Southgate's side disappointed for large parts in Thursday's 1-1 draw with Denmark but are still in control of Group C heading into the final matchday.
England face Slovenia on Tuesday, when Denmark also meet Serbia, with Southgate's men boasting a two-point advantage and pole position in their hands.
Yet there has been added scrutiny after an underwhelming showing in their last outing, with Kane facing criticism for his part in an uninspired England performance.
The England captain insists all will be forgotten if the Three Lions can respond and go deep into the tournament in Germany.
"I think that's part of having the experience and using that to your advantage," Kane said at Sunday's pre-match press conference.
"It would be silly just to forget all those past experiences and past tournaments because they can be really helpful and really useful. That's what I try and do.
"I think a lot of the players who have been here for a long time do the same and you have the responsibility to try and share that with the other players. Major tournaments are tough, like I touched on, there's always going to be ups and downs.
"It's never just a straight line to the top, or not in our experience. We know how much it took to get close in the last Euros [in 2021].
"The bottom line is where you finish in the tournament. No one is going to remember the 1-1 draw against Denmark if we go all the way and win it. That's just the reality.
"It's just understanding that you don't get too carried away if you're winning games and don't get too down if you're playing as we've played so far in the tournament.
"It's just about pushing on and finding a way to make sure we get to the knockout stage. And then once we're there, knockout football is ours to take."
Southgate's future has also come under speculation, with the England manager's current contract ending in December and Manchester United reportedly showing interest before sticking with Erik ten Hag.
Many have pointed their frustrations at Southgate's tactics with England failing to get the best out of a host of starts, including Premier League champion Phil Foden and Champions League winner Jude Bellingham.
Yet Kane placed his full backing in Southgate, urging critics to look at where the manager has taken them from.
"I can't speak highly enough of Gareth and what he's done for the team, for this nation in terms of where we were and where we are now as a national team is completely different," he added.
"I think he's brilliant on the details, making sure that there's no stone unturned and that we know everyone knows what they're going to be doing going into games.
"Just as a person and giving us the freedom to be ourselves and whether that's on the pitch or off the pitch, just to feel comfortable doing that.
"I think being England manager is a really difficult job. That's the bottom line. He knows that and we all know that.
"There's always going to be people who maybe criticise him or doubt him, but I think his record speaks for itself. He's been extremely successful with us.
"Like all of us, I know he wants to, and we want to take that next step and win it.
"We're all really determined to do that so he will do what's best for the nation, he will make the decision what's best for the team and all I'd say is to just get behind him."
Hurzeler rues 'too many individual mistakes' in Chelsea defeat
Fabian Hurzeler acknowledged Brighton made "too many individual mistakes" during their 4-2 defeat against a Cole Palmer-inspired Chelsea.
The Seagulls suffered their first loss of the season after they were on the wrong end of a six-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge.
Brighton took a seventh-minute lead through Georginio Rutter's brave header, but were soon on the back foot as Palmer took command of the contest.
First, the Blues forward punished Adam Webster's loose back pass, before slotting home a penalty after Carlos Baleba fouled Jadon Sancho in the box.
He then bent a superb 25-yard free-kick into the top corner, and completed his quadruple following Bart Verbruggen's sloppy pass out from the back.
And while confident his players will learn from the experience, Hurzeler admitted they were the victims of their own downfall.
"We had a good start and controlled the game, had dominance in possession," he told Match of the Day.
"We scored but, afterwards, we had too many individual mistakes and with too many individual mistakes, you cannot win at Stamford Bridge.
"In possession, we were good but, to win games, you need to be good in both phases, and we didn't defend well.
"We are still in a process, and we have to learn from this quickly. Every time we made a mistake, they punished it and punished it quickly.
"We have to analyse, we have to be honest with each other, and be better next time.
"There are not many players like Cole Palmer in the Premier League, he is special."
Udinese 2-3 Inter: Martinez at the double in hard-fought win
Striker Lautaro Martinez scored a goal in each half to help climb to third place in Serie A, following a 3-2 victory away to Udinese on Saturday.
The victory ended a three-game winless run in all competitions for Inter and ensured they got back to winning ways at the first opportunity following their 2-1 defeat in the Milan derby last weekend.
Udinese, meanwhile, are fifth in Serie A, with this defeat their second on the spin in the league after losing at Roma.
Davide Frattesi put Inter a goal ahead after just 43 seconds in Udine, converting Matteo Darmian's low cross to score the earliest goal in a Serie A match since 27 May 2023, but that was cancelled out by Christian Kabasele's 35th-minute header.
Last season's Serie A top scorer Martinez restored the visitors' advantage in stoppage time at the end of the first half before the Argenitne made it 3-1 just after half-time.
Lorenzo Lucca pulled one back for Udinese on 83 minutes to make it a nervy ending for Inter, yet it was the visitors who came closest to bagging again with Mehdi Taremi seeing a stoppage-time goal ruled out.
Data Debrief: Inter get going on the road
This was Inter's first away victory of the season in all competitions.
It was, in turn, also Udinese's second defeat of the campaign and the second straight match in which they have conceded three goals. Udinese have now shipped 10 league goals, with just two teams in the division having let in more.
Martinez, meanwhile, netted at least two goals in an away league match for the 10th time for Inter. Since his debut in Serie A in the 2018-19 season, no other player has scored at least twice in a single match on the road in Serie A on as many occasions as him.
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.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
