Rio Ferdinand believes England are developing players with "footballing IQ" but thinks Gareth Southgate's side lacks an "identity".
The Three Lions have made an indifferent start to their World Cup campaign. They were superb in their opening fixture against Iran last Monday - hammering them 6-2 - but could only manage a tedious goalless draw against the United States on Friday.
Ferdinand is struggling to identify England's definitive playing style but has praised the ability of Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and James Maddison. None of those players have started either of England's opening games, although Maddison has been nursing a knee injury.
"England have that fight ingrained in us," Ferdinand told BBC Sport. "But maybe that last five, six years or so we’ve started developing the players like Foden, Grealish, Maddison, with the footballing IQ, subtle behaviours on the pitch and the ability to play the final pass, dominate the ball, protect the ball.
"And you mix that with the English spirit and you create a good mix to win these type of tournaments."
Many critics are calling for Southgate to start Foden against Wales on Tuesday. The Three Lions will progress if they avoid a heavy defeat to Robert Page's side, although they need to win to finish top of the their group and - in theory - receive a more favourable tie.
Do you think Phil Foden, Jack Grealish or James Maddison should start against Wales? Let us know in the comments below!
England will face the runners-up of Group A if they beat Wales but will have to play the group winners if they fail to do that. The Netherlands are expected to beat Qatar on Tuesday to finish top of Group A, with either Ecuador and Senegal also in contention.
Foden is a regular for Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and has scored seven goals in the Premier League this season. Leicester star Maddison, who is a doubt for Tuesday's game due to his knee complaint, has also found the net seven times in the same competition.
Grealish, meanwhile, has scored just once in the Premier League this term, although he did open his World Cup account against Iran. Although Ferdinand is a fan of these three players, he is concerned England don't have a specific playing style under Southgate.
"I don’t look at us and see an identity, like I couldn’t tell you the way that we play definitively," he added. "With Spain you can say that, with England you still don’t know what we do to get us over the line. We need to be more aggressive.
"We have the profile of player to be so much more aggressive on the front foot and meet teams high. You saw today [in Spain's 1-1 draw against Germany on Sunday] that chances are created high, from winning the ball high."
Southgate is known for being a more conservative manager and often plays five at the back. His caution was evident against the US, as England defended well but failed to create much going forward. Southgate also brought on Jordan Henderson instead of Foden.
