Alan Shearer has criticised Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka for ‘not doing enough’ as England made hard work of beating Panama to secure top spot in their World Cup group.
Goals from Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane in a much-improved second-half display secured victory for the Three Lions in New Jersey, but boss Thomas Tuchel cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines at times.
The German was spotted barking orders at Kane after just three minutes and honing in on Rashford and Saka during the first hydration break.
And former England striker Shearer was left equally irked by the performances of Rashford and Saka, two of the changes Tuchel made to the starting line-up after the goalless draw with Ghana.
‘I haven’t seen the stats but I can see it with my eyes that Rashford and Saka have been involved in a lot of what England have done but they haven’t done enough with it,’ said Shearer on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Bukayo Saka (left) and Marccus Rashford (right) struggled to take advantage of a starting spot
‘It’s been really disappointing from the first 10 minutes when we moved the ball with purpose and I expected us to carry that on, but that hasn’t been the case.’
England took 45 minutes to find their groove in their opening 4-2 win over Croatia but then found themselves out of ideas, particularly in wide areas, against Ghana’s low block.
And it was the wide players again that drew the most frustration from fans and pundits after England’s first-half display at the MetLife Stadium – where the Three Lions hope to return on July 19 when it hosts the World Cup final.
‘We lack subtlety, creativity and innovation. The players in wide areas, the final part of their game has been really poor,’ Gary Neville said on ITV Sport.
‘We are struggling badly to break them down. He may have to bring on two strikers and do something different.’
Fellow ITV pundit Roy Keane added: ‘England seem to have been dragged down to their level. Their top players haven’t turned up.’
Despite the obvious need to improve, England still head into the knockout stages on the more favourable side of the draw, where they have avoided the likes of France, Germany, Netherlands and Spain.
Tuchel (left) and Shearer (right) both took issue with perormances out wide in the first half
Jude Bellingham was the difference maker as his goal and assist was key to beating Panama
The win over Panama did highlight once more the impressive impact Jude Bellingham is having on the team, though, with his goal and assist securing his third man-of-the-match award in as many games.
‘There is more to build on,’ Tuchel said. ‘You have to get so many details right and it’s an aggressive approach we take.
‘The tournament starts again now, it’s knockouts. Now we collect our strengths, collect our energy, build on what we have, the team spirit, the fighting spirit, the belief, and we will step up.’
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