World Cup 2018: Roy Keane says England have a ‘long, long way to go’ before challenging to win a major tournament
The Irishman laid into the Three Lions after they lost the Third-Place play-off to Belgium
Roy Keane offered a withering assessment of England after their 2-0 defeat to Belgium.
The Three Lions had hoped to finish their World Cup on a high but lost the Third-Place play-off.
Despite the loss, most have been impressed with England’s performances in Russia after they defied low expectations.
But ITV pundit Keane gave his customary harsh assessment after the defeat to Belgium.
The former Manchester United midfielder thinks England – like many other teams – lack the creative players needed to win big games.
The Irishman said: “There’s only a few of them around [players who can unlock defences]. Belgium are lucky to have two of them.
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“There has been great progress for England. But there’s a long, long way to go for this group of players. We just saw today.
“We also saw the gap in quality in England’s midfield and Belgium’s midfield.
“But it’s not just England lacking these players. That’s why it’s so hard to win these games.”
Keane also laid into the England defenders after they conceded two goals against Belgium.
“They have to defend better. If you defend like that it’s very hard to win games of football.
“The two goals they gave away were really poor.”
Danny Rose was at fault for the first goal with Thomas Meunier getting ahead of the Tottenham defender to score after just four minutes.
Eden Hazard then scored the second late on.