Ben Stokes hit out at “negative pundits” after England’s drab draw against Denmark at Euro 2024 in Frankfurt.
Harry Kane opened the scoring for Gareth Southgate’s team before Morden Hjulmand equalised from long-range for the Danes.
Yet England wilted in the second-half, with the likes of BBC pundits Rio Ferdinand, Micah Richards and Alan Shearer critical of the Three Lions’ performance.
However, England Test cricket captain Stokes, who has won both the 50-over and 20-over World Cups in the last five years, slammed the negativity while praising the post-match interview of right-back Kyle Walker.
In a post on Twitter/X, he said: “Class interview that from Kyle Walker… made sure everyone heard they are top of the table but knows there is loads more to improve on.
“Get behind the team and leave the hindsight and negativity to the pundits aye… come on ENGLAND.”
Former England captain Shearer, on co-commentary duties in Frankfurt for the BBC, was hugely critical of England’s performance throughout a frustrating 90 minutes.
“You can see players lying on their back, they look absolutely shattered – there’s no excuse for that,” he said, after the game.
“No energy, no pace to the game. We didn’t run in behind until the last 10 or 15 minutes. We got caught too many times on the ball, too many sloppy passes.
“And in truth, Denmark were the better team and deserved to win. There’s so much more to come. It’s really concerning.
Despite a difficult day, England are still top of Group C with four points from their first two games but may still need a result from their final group-stage clash against Slovenia on Tuesday night.
