Harry Kane hits back at Gary Lineker following X-rated criticism of England’s Euro 2024 campaign

Harry Kane has hit out at ex-players who have been critical of England at Euro 2024, insisting they should remember how tough it is to play for the national team before passing judgement

England captain Harry Kane has urged former England stars to be mindful of their words when criticising the current squad, reminding them of the pressures that come with donning the national team kit and competing in major tournaments.

Despite being poised to advance to the knockout stages of the European Championship this summer atop Group C, England’s unconvincing performances against Serbia and Denmark have attracted harsh commentary. Gary Lineker described the display on his podcast as “s***” and remarked that Kane “needs to do a lot better”, with Alan Shearer echoing the criticism.

Speaking ahead of the final group match against Slovenia, Kane urged ex-England players to be mindful of their words. “I would never want to be disrespectful to any player, especially a player who has worn the shirt and knows what it is like to play for England,” he said.

“The bottom line is we haven’t won anything as a nation for a long, long time and a lot of these players were part of that as well and they know how tough it is, so it is not digging anyone out. It is just the reality that they do know it is tough to play in these major tournaments and tough to play for England.

“I would never disrespect any ex-player. All I would say is remember what it is like to wear the shirt and that their words are listened to. Some of the lads, I don’t know how many, but we do hear it.

“We all want to win a major tournament and I’m sure they want us to win a major tournament and being as helpful as they can and building the lads up with confidence would be a much better way of going about it.”