Jamie Carragher has weighed in on the debate over England's performance in their opening Euro 2024 game
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Jamie Carragher believes that one England player was stifled on Sunday night against Serbia, a problem that quickly needs solving if the Three Lions are to live up to their billing as tournament favourites.
England managed to pick up three points in their opening Euro 2024 game against a tricky Serbia side in Gelsenkirchen, with a Jude Bellingham header proving the difference.
But while Bellingham impressed, others came in for criticism. Trent Alexander-Arnold struggled to impose himself on the game from central midfield - but it's another star in the team Jamie Carragher is concerned by.
Jude Bellingham scored the only goal of the game (Image credit: Getty Images)
"The problem with a player of Kane’s many abilities is that it reduces his effectiveness by 50 per cent. Kane is a multi-tasking, modern centre forward who was reduced to one-dimension during the 1-0 win over Serbia," Carragher wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
"If Southgate persists with the same system for the rest of the tournament, their No 9 will be heavily compromised. Possibly too much. Having come into the Euros with a Phil Foden conundrum, after one game Southgate has a Kane one.
"In the first half, Kane registered just two touches of the ball. For a player of his class, that is deeply worrying."
Kane (Image credit: Getty Images)
Kane entered the Euros coming off the back of his most prolific season in front of goal at club level, having bagged 44 goals in 44 games. But, despite that goalscoring form, Carragher believes Kane should have the licence to get involved in the game more regularly, something he was renowned for doing at Tottenham.
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England next play Denmark at Euro 2024 on Thursday, with a win set to all-but guarantee the Three Lions' progression to the knockout stages. Kane will hope to find his form against the Danes, a side he scored against at the previous European Championship to help the side reach the final of the tournament at Wembley.
While the stakes are slightly different this time around, Denmark could provide the England captain with the opportunity to kickstart his Euro 2024.
More England at Euro 2024 stories, following the comments from Jamie Carragher
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
