Former Germany and Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann has strongly criticized England’s performance at Euro 2024, describing it as ‘dreadful’ following their final defeat to Spain.
Gareth Southgate’s team suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 loss at the Olympiastadion, with goals from Nico Williams and Mikel Oyarzabal securing Spain’s record fourth European Championship title. The Spanish team’s victory was well-deserved, as they impressed throughout the tournament with their skillful possession and dangerous attacks from the wings.
In contrast, England’s displays leading up to a series of dramatic knockout wins were underwhelming. Hamann did not hold back in his assessment of England’s performance, stating that they were responsible for seven out of the ten worst games in the competition.
‘The football was dreadful,’ he told RTE Sport. ‘Out of the ten worst games in the tournament, England played in seven of them. With Kane, I don’t know why he’s not moving. They’ve been behind in all their knockout games. If you had played Ollie Watkins, it would have been dangerous. Palmer comes on and scores after five minutes.’
Former Germany and Liverpool midfielder Did Hamann criticized England’s Euro 2024 performance
Gareth Southgate’s team suffered a heartbreaking loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 final
Hamann believes England played in seven of the ten worst games at Euro 2024
‘If we had started with Foden, and brought on Eze and Gordon, and this team had taken the lead in one of their games, I don’t think many teams could have caught them because of their speed, except maybe France,’ Hamann added. ‘But they were never given the opportunity to show it because [Southgate] insisted on starting with Bellingham and Kane, who didn’t perform.’
Spain dominated the early stages of the final in Berlin, but England fought back towards the end of the first half. However, Spain took the lead early in the second half through Nico Williams, who calmly slotted the ball past Jordan Pickford after being left unmarked at the back post.
England managed to equalize in the 73rd minute through Cole Palmer’s precise finish, but Spain ultimately prevailed with Oyarzabal’s winner. Hamann’s former Liverpool teammate, Jamie Carragher, also criticized England’s players for their performances, particularly in major tournaments over the years.
Jamie Carragher also criticized England’s players for their performances
Spain celebrated winning their record-fourth European Championship title
‘Sven played 4-4-2, Fabio was too strict, Gareth is too defensive!’ Carragher wrote on Twitter after the defeat. ‘Funny how it’s always the manager’s fault, isn’t it?!! Our top players didn’t show up in this tournament or in other tournaments in the past.’
England’s wait for a major tournament victory continues, and they became the first team to lose back-to-back European Championship finals.