THE TOOTH HURTS
Harry Kane bites back at Lineker and Co over ‘s***’ Denmark jibes and reminds ex-England stars they never won anything
The Three Lions skipper wants a change of approach
HARRY Kane fired back yesterday after Gary Lineker’s four-letter blast at England’s Euros display.
BBC footie pundit and ex-Three Lions ace Lineker had called the team’s 1-1 draw against Denmark “s***” in his podcast.
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But captain Harry responded with a cutting reminder that the England sides the 63-year-old played for “won nothing”.
Skipper Harry warned of the impact on the morale of the younger players after former Three Lions ace Lineker’s four-letter outburst.
Match of the Day host Lineker had slammed the team’s performance against Denmark in his The Rest is Football podcast with former Man City ace Micah Richards.
Stressing he thought the England manager was “a f*g great human being”, he said of Thursday’s 1-1 draw: “I mean, you can think of all sorts of words and expletives if you like, but it was s*”.
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But asked at a press conference if Lineker should “stick to flogging crisps”, Harry pointed out that the England teams the 63-year-old had played in had never won a trophy.
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Harry, 30, went on to warn of the impact the current criticism by pundits can have on the morale of the younger players.
He took aim at doubters after a game of darts near the England base, and urged fans: “Don’t panic.”
Lineker and pundit Alan Shearer had lambasted England after their 1-1 draw with Denmark in BBC coverage of the game in Frankfurt.
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Other former England players also took aim.
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It’s being widely flagged up that Harry Kane has not seen much of the ball in England’s first two matches but this is not, in itself, going to be a concern for Gareth Southgate.
It’s a nice thing for the stats fanatics to go on about — and there are obviously more and more of them in and around football.
But not all statistics are helpful and this one doesn’t mean a great deal.
Harry has scored one goal, and so nearly two, in two games. It’s not as if he hasn’t been involved at all.
Everybody in England needs to calm down a little about the captain.
Some are even suggesting that he should be dropped or rested for tomorrow’s final group game against Slovenia — but that is totally absurd.
Please stop worrying. He will come good. He always does.
Read Jurgen Klinsmann thoughts on Harry Kane's struggles in full.
Wayne Rooney said: “It was a flat performance, there wasn’t energy or balance in the team. I’m putting it on the players as well.”
Gary Neville said: “There’s an imbalance in the team, square pegs in round holes.
“You end up giving the ball away and we look like a mess.”
And Rio Ferdinand described the team’s performance as “lacklustre” adding: It lacked any sort of direction. Tactically, well below par.”
But Bayern Munich goal machine Harry — substituted during the Denmark game despite scoring — said: “All I’d say is, just remember what it was like to wear the shirt.”
He added: “I’d never want to be disrespectful to any player, especially a player who’s worn the shirt and knows what it’s like to play for England.
“But ex-players or ex-players who are pundits now have got to realise that it’s very hard not to listen to it now — especially for some players who are not used to it.
"I know they’ve got to be honest and give their opinion but also their responsibility . . . people do care about what they say and people do listen to them.”
Lineker won 80 caps for England and scored 48 goals for his country, 16 fewer than Harry has in 93 appearances.
The former favourite played in a team which reached the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup in Italy — a feat matched by Harry in Russia in 2018 — but never won an international trophy.
Harry said: “The bottom line is that we have won nothing as a nation for a long, long time and a lot of these players were part of that — they know how tough it is. It’s not digging anyone out. It’s just the reality.
“They do know it’s tough playing these major tournaments and tough to play for England.”
ENGLAND vs DENMARK RATINGS
ENGLAND stumbled to a drab 1-1 draw with Denmark.
Here's how SunSport's Tom Barclay rated the Three Lions team.
Jordan Pickford: 6
Looked a little jittery early doors, though there was nothing he could do about Morten Hjulmand’s corker and he made a decent parry after the break.
Kyle Walker: 7
Made England’s opener by racing round a sleeping Victor Kristiansen - he’ll be having nightmares of that forevermore - and teeing up Kane via a deflected cross.
John Stones: 6
OK but you have got to wonder how fit he feels having barely played for Man City in the second half of the season, plus his injury and illness issues over the last month.
Marc Guehi: 8 and my star man
Really encouraging again from the Crystal Palace centre-back, looking sharp with his interceptions and assured in distribution.
Kieran Trippier: 6
Like Stones, he was fine, but England really need Luke Shaw back ASAP because having no natural left-footer at left-back is a problem.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 5
This experiment of playing Trent in midfield is far from convincing, especially when his passing was off it like it was here, barring one good ball to Saka. Subbed on 54 minutes.
Declan Rice: 5
Had to cover so much ground as England dropped worryingly deep in the first half and also lost it a few times in front of his back four.
Bukayo Saka: 7
Not quite as electric as his first half against Serbia, but another solid showing from our right winger who has been our most consistent attacker across the two games.
Jude Bellingham: 6
Nowhere near the majestic display he put in against Serbia and one of many who looked tired.
Phil Foden: 7
Was far more involved than against Serbia - although that was not hard - and had a few dangerous efforts from range, including one that smacked the post after the break.
Harry Kane: 6
Netted his 64th goal for his country with an opener he could not really miss, but then gave the ball away from Denmark’s leveller. Surprisingly subbed.
SUBS:
Conor Gallagher (on for Trent, 54): 7
Vital clearance on the stretch when Christian Eriksen was lurking and was not afraid to put his foot in.
Ollie Watkins (on for Kane, 70): 6
Played in by Bellingham’s lovely ball after coming on but could not finish from an acute angle.
Jarrod Bowen (on for Foden, 69): 6
Copped a nasty tackle which saw Joakim Maehle booked.
Eberechi Eze (on for Saka, 69): 6
On for his tournament bow though he was rarely involved.
The Three Lions won their first Group C match at Euro 2026 1-0 against Serbia but struggled to hang on to a draw against a battling Denmark on a quagmire pitch.
However, they go into tomorrow’s final group game against Slovenia top of their group and already virtually assured of a place in the tournament’s knockout stages.
They remain favourites to beat Slovenia and win the group to avoid big guns in the next round.
At a news conference yesterday, Harry implored fans to stay calm and trust manager Gareth Southgate to make the Lions roar again.
'Don’t panic!'
And he used the Dad’s Army plea “Don’t panic!” at least five times to curb jitters back home.
He said: “We have been here before, we’ve got a lot of experience so it’s not a time to panic.
“It’s almost like a boxer in the first couple of rounds just seeing where everyone’s at.
“You don’t play yourself out of the tournament.
“Just be calm, and that’s kind of where I think we’re at.
“We know we can improve, but it’s not a time to panic and think we need to change everything.” Harry said England’s Holy Grail-style quest for a first trophy in 58 years was still on track after the squad’s massive improvement under Southgate in recent years.
The skipper added: “The bottom line is we’re trying to achieve something as an England team that we’ve never achieved in our history.
“We’ve come close and we’ve been the closest in recent history so we know how to get it done, but we also know there’s a lot of hard work along the way.
“There’s a lot of good teams and it’s going to be difficult and there will be times we’re going to have to grind (out results).
West Ham and England midfielder Jarrod Bowen has also spoken of his surprise at Lineker’s “s*” comment.
He said: “I didn’t know it was as strong as that. I thought his podcast might be a little bit more PG.
“They’re more than entitled to speak about the games. But the reality is, we’re top of the table.”
Lineker also branded Southgate “tactically inept” in the Denmark match on his podcast.
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But he added: “It’s really hard to be critical of Gareth Southgate, because overall in the England role he’s turned England’s fortunes around in many ways.”
Lineker’s spokesman last night said he did not wish to comment on Harry Kane’s reaction.
Pundits and legends lay into England
ENGLAND's lifeless display in the 1-1 draw with Denmark left pundits and legends queuing up to take a dig at Gareth Southgate's team.
Here's the best of what was said…
ALAN SHEARER
“Awful performance, particularly after going up in the game.
“I don’t think one England player can look at themselves and say, ‘I’ve done my job tonight’.
“England were all over the place, far too sloppy in possession, gave the ball away too much and got caught too many times.
“There was no energy, no pace, no guile — Southgate is simply not getting the best out of England’s best players.
“It’s concerning and Gareth will get some serious questions.
“You saw England players lying on their backs — they look absolutely shattered but there’s no excuse for that.”
GARY LINEKER
The BBC host called the performance “lifeless and tepid”.
On Harry Kane he said: “He needs his manager to ask more of him. I would have expected that if I’d put in that kind of performance.”
RIO FERDINAND
“The players don’t look the same as they do for their clubs. It is a big concern.”
ROY KEANE
“Courage and bravery, we're not really seeing it.
“There's something amiss with the balance. Bellingham is waving his arms.
“This is a big test for Gareth. It looks like he's overthinking things.”
JAMIE CARRAGHER
"My big worry watching this and for the rest of the tournament?
"England look absolutely knackered. They can’t get close to the ball.
"The surest sign of fatigue is dropping deep.
"Declan Rice is having to cover so much ground. No-one can convince me this is a strategy."
JACK WILSHERE
"It’s strange that we have taken the lead in both games so far, yet instead of it settling us down and giving us the confidence to play, we have failed to take control.
"But what was most worrying was that Denmark had a clear way of playing — while we didn’t."
POD BLASTS
MEDIA experts reckon ex-footballers are becoming more controversial as pundits to boost podcast listening figures — and the money they earn.
Presenters on those made by Gary Lineker’s Goalhanger Podcasts are said to pocket two-thirds of the cash generated but reportedly are not paid a wage.
One podcast producer said: “It isn’t rocket science. Controversy creates headlines and headlines make money.”
Many fans welcome the new edgier opinions as an honest reflection of views and preferable to the usual cheer-leading approach by pundits. But the spikier offerings have started to grate with current players and managers.
Even on the BBC, Man United boss Erik ten Hag clashed with Alan Shearer after their FA Cup final win, saying: “You are very good here in England to push players and managers very high. Then you hammer them when they have one or two bad performances.”
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