John Giles believes Gareth Southgate should have dropped his captain and star striker Harry Kane during Euro 2024.

Kane missed the end of the season at Bayern Munich due to injury and while he scored three goals during the tournament, the 30-year-old looked a pale imitation of the striker who has terrified defences. He was again ineffective against Spain and brought off just after the hour mark as England lost 2-1 in the final.

And Republic of Ireland great Giles believes the former Spurs man should have been dropped from the starting XI long before the decider.

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"Looking back now, I would have dropped him. He wasn't doing it and he didn't look fit," Giles told Off The Ball.

He continued: "He definitely had problems, physical problems and that's the way I would see it.

"After the first match, it would have sounded odd, but it would have been better leaving him out because the lads that came in did quite well for them. They scored goals in late situations so I would feel sorry for Harry.

"Harry's a brilliant player and he's a brilliant captain in my opinion, but he wasn't doing his stuff and a lot of the players weren't because they looked totally shot."

Giles added: "There's no sentiment in football, especially as a manager. You have to pick the best players at your disposal for any particular match regardless of the reputation. It's not easy to do, but that has to be done and Harry definitely wasn't at his best."

The 83-year-old also took aim at Jude Bellingham, who despite admitting that the Real Madrid midfielder could become a great player, said it looks "as if he wants to be on his own, and make a name for himself on his own".

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