Harry Kane openly admits what's missing from this England team after poor Euros display
Harry Kane's England advanced to the round of 16 having finished top of Group C but the displays have been far from convincing from the Euro 2020 finalists
Harry Kane believes England are missing that "little bit of quality" after their goalless draw against Slovenia in their final group stage clash of Euro 2024.
Following a lethargic 1-1 draw with Denmark and a narrow 1-0 win over Serbia, England promised to put on a performance that would supplant the doubts inspired by the previous displays. But Gareth Southgate's side were forced to settle for a second draw in two matches as Slovenia's organised and disciplined defence tacked another draw onto their ever-growing list in Germany.
Bukayo Saka thought he’d put England up mid-way through the first half as he tapped in at the back post following a dazzling move from England’s right-hand side, but the Arsenal forward was ruled offside.
Despite boasting 74% of possession and registering 12 shots on goal, England toiled to cut themselves serious contenders for the summer's showpiece event.
And despite the cries of crisis and boos coming from the travelling England supporters in Cologne, Kane believes that the margins keeping England from glory are not as drastic as many are suggesting.
"Just that final bit of quality, final pass, final finish on the cross," Kane said when asked what England were missing in their most recent display. "But we created some half chances and we had one towards the end there that we maybe could have done better, but overall they defended well and made it hard for us.”
Kane made headlines in the days leading up to England's clash with Slovenia as he confronted the media over what he deemed to be unnecessarily harsh criticism of the squad. Kane had taken particular umbrage with comments from ex-England striker Gary Lineker who branded the display against Denmark "s***", while earmarking Kane as putting in an especially poor performance.
At full-time in Cologne, Southgate made his way over to the travelling supporters who threw plastic cups down on the former England international along with a shower of boos.
The England boss made one change to the starting XI to face Slovenia, opting to swap Conor Gallagher for Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield. The shake-up proved inefficient, with England's creative dearth as conspicuous as the previous matches.
The arrival of Kobbie Mainoo after the interval, along with Cole Palmer, Andy Gordon and Alexander-Arnold offered bright spots but ultimately England were forced to settle for a draw.
With the top spot in Group C secured, England will face the third-placed team from groups D, E or F on Sunday at 5pm - with potential opponents being the Netherlands following their 3-2 defeat to Austria.
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