Harry Kane refuted reports he led an emergency players’ only meeting with his England teammates the morning after their woeful draw with Denmark.
Reports had claimed the captain mustered his teammates for talks without coaches the morning after the 1-1 draw, which was branded by some as the team’s worst performance of Gareth Southgate’s reign.
However, Kane insisted this was not the case and revealed how the spent the day after the match.
He told talkSPORT’s Faye Carruthers: “No, that didn’t happen. I’m not sure where that’s come from. It was probably just people trying to create something out of nothing.
“The day after the game was just a small debrief as we always do from the manager, then had a family day.
“We had seven hours with the family, which I’m not sure all the lads were happy about after a few hours.
“It was pretty hectic to be fair, we might cut that down in the future.
“It was an important day to switch our minds off. We’ve done well in the tournament so far, so it was an important day to switch our minds off.”
While England remain at the top of Group C with four points, fans, pundits and leading members of the press have been alarmed with the Three Lions’ disjointed displays so far at Euro 2024.
Southgate’s self-confessed Trent Alexander-Arnold ‘experiment’ in midfield is not working, while his decision to take injured Luke Shaw as his only left-back, leaving right-footed Kieran Trippier to fill in on the left flank, has backfired badly with the Manchester United defender still yet to train with the rest of the squad.
The manager’s team selections have left the team imbalanced on the pitch, with England lacking width and questions over how to fit Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham in the same team effectively.
England only need a point against Slovenia to reach the last-16. They could progress even if they lose, should Denmark fail to beat Serbia in the other group tie, but anything less than a win will only intensify the spotlight and pressure currently on the players.
And even then, another unconvincing performance will likely see the wolves come out again.
Kane insisted the players are trying to shut out the noise from the doubters.
He added: “I try and stay away from it as much as possible but it’s impossible to not see some of the stuff nowadays.
“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion and when a major international tournament is on it’s going to be heightened.
“If I’m being honest, am I playing as well as I can? No.
“But I didn’t score in group at World Cup in the group stages, so I’m one ahead already now.
“I don’t get too high, or too low, I just go onto the next one.”
For many, the blame lies solely at Southgate’s door for his negative tactics and confusing set-up which has so far failed to get the best of the world-class talent in his squad.
“I was bored,” World Cup and European Championship winner Emmanual Petit told talkSPORT after the Denmark performance.
“I didn’t understand what was going on on the pitch. I think Southgate has a big responsibility for that.
“When I watched the game I had no idea what the plan was. I had no idea what they wanted to do with and without the ball. Tactically, the balance is not right.
“I was very surprised, very disappointed and very bored to watch so I can imagine it was boring for the players to play that game.
“England needs to change the starting eleven and the tactics. I don’t recognise Declan Rice, Harry Kane is a victim of how the team is playing and Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield is not working. There are so many questions without answers.”
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News Summary:
- Harry Kane refutes reports he called ‘players’ only’ meeting after Denmark draw as England captain reveals how they spent day
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