Underperforming England sides at a major tournament can spark a nationwide echo chamber of opinions – through grumbles and moans, backward passes and a lack of Kalvin Phillips, it can be hard to see the light.
England may have so far failed to excite at Euro 2024 but the Three Lions did qualify for the last 16 by topping Group C and face an arguably favourable route in the knockouts, starting with Slovakia, ranked 45th in the world, on Sunday.
So is the home view of England too pessimistic? Are we expecting too much from Gareth Southgate’s side? Are the media too critical?
World Cup and two-time European Championship winner Cesc Fabregas, for example, says the Spanish press are even tougher on their national team.
“The English media is not that tough with the players,” he added. “It is the opposite. In Spain, we are much more critical.”
It begs the question – what does the rest of Europe think of England?
We are all in the Spanish media very disappointed. We built this England up because we like the people in it, because we like Southgate, because of the potential, because of the success with the clubs – we built them up as one of the candidates.
The reaction has been trying to find explanations. We go through the same kind of things the English press goes through, but conclusions are a little bit different.
For instance, there is talk of the use of ‘names’ instead of players that can do a role in the big Southgate idea – the reliance on names and some playing out of position.
Jude Bellingham doesn’t do the role he does for England with Real Madrid, that’s done by Toni Kroos. Bellingham is the guy that arrives into the box and is close to the forwards, he is not doing that with England.
Phil Foden and Bellingham are too similar, two number 10s, and they use more or less the same space and influence. And there is no wide players. We don’t understand why Anthony Gordon came on so late?
Also, the fear, the pressure that is put on the England side by everyone – media, fans, everyone. It blows our mind how it quickly becomes toxic.
