England Nearly Come Unstuck With Moyesball

England missed out on automatically qualifying for the knockout stages of the Euros tonight after drawing 1-1 with Denmark.

The Three Lions were booed by their supporters after a lacklustre showing at the Frankfurt Arena. It was a display familiar to West Ham fans, as manager Gareth Southgate used tactics straight out of the David Moyes playbook, struggling to get the best out of his talented attacking players.

England’s performance will not strike fear into Europe’s elite. Manager Gareth Southgate’s selection and the underwhelming team effort will need to be scrutinised and completely revamped before facing Slovenia on Tuesday.

Despite the disappointment, England remains on top of Group C with four points and a strong chance of automatically qualifying for the round of 16. They need at least a draw against Slovenia to secure their place in the knockout phase.

England started with the same team that beat Serbia but wobbled after going ahead. Captain Harry Kane opened the scoring with a neat finish in the 18th minute, but Denmark recovered well, dominating the game.

Morten Hjulmand equalised for the Danes with a long-range effort in the 34th minute after England gave the ball away from a throw-in.

England’s performance was disjointed and clueless, with players looking like they had never met before. Foden, who performed better than he did against Serbia, hit the post in the second half as both sides had chances to win the game.

Southgate made four substitutions after the 54th minute, replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold with Conor Gallagher, Foden with Jarrod Bowen, Bukayo Saka with Eberechi Eze, and Kane with Ollie Watkins. Watkins’ introduction nearly paid off immediately as he forced Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel into a save from a tight angle.

Whilst the changes brought more intensity, England still lacked the quality to take the lead again, and Denmark looked more likely to snatch a winner.

Ultimately, it was a poor performance from England. From a West Ham perspective, it was a relief to see Jarrod Bowen escape without injury. Not only was the Hammers winger the recipient of a nasty foul, but the playing surface was inadequate, and it’s surprising more players were not injured as a result.