Graeme Souness has slammed ex Tottenham Hotspur player for his performances at the European Championships.
Harry Kane broke into England’s starting XI for the Euro 2024 knock-out stages, particularly impressing in England’s quarter-final and semi-final victories over Switzerland and the Netherlands.
However, having earned his place for the final after many international caps, the 30-year-old struggled to make an impact against Spain and was substituted for Watkins mid-way through the second period.
Despite admitting that Harry Kane is “very talented on the ball”, Souness criticised the man for his “naivety” in England’s 2-1 final defeat against La Roja, claiming that he “wanders” too far from his position .
“I think he’s really good on the ball, he’s very talented on the ball,” Souness told the Up Front podcast.
“But he doesn’t fully understand the position. He wanders, he empties the front of the field too readily
“I watched him against Iceland (during England’s last Euro 2024 warm-up game) and he was getting thrown to the left and thrown to the right.
“He started all the game (during England’s first Euro 2024 game against Serbia) and the first thing he did was chase down the goalkeeper and try to put him under pressure.
“It’s naivety, he’s still learning the game.”
Souness was also critical of Mainoo’s midfield partner, Declan Rice, highlighting that the Arsenal star was too reluctant to play the ball forward.
“England were at their best when they went a goal behind,” he added. “All of a sudden they started taking risks. They had to be braver and risk making a mistake, risk passing it forward or trying to play someone in.
“Instead they were just going sideways or backwards and it was driving me mad in the final, as it had done the whole tournament.
“I did some research and found that Declan Rice only completed one forward pass against Spain. One completed forward pass in 90 minutes for a midfield player… that’s impossible!”
Wayne Rooney says he has “a feeling” about Kobbie Mainoo and the Euro 2024 final as England prepare to face Spain.
Mainoo has been nothing short of a revelation this summer. He was used sparingly during England’s opener against Serbia, coming on as 86th-minute substitute for Jude Bellingham.
He then missed the 1-1 draw with Denmark but after Trent Alexander-Arnold struggled to make an impact in the so-called ‘midfield experiment’, Mainoo was handed starts against Slovenia, Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
The 19-year-old midfielder, who is coming off the back of an impressive breakthrough campaign at Manchester United, is likely to partner Declan Rice again in Sunday’s final.
And a confident Wayne Rooney believes Mainoo will score in Sunday’s final.
“I just have a feeling about Mainoo and the final,” he said in his column for The Times. “That he is going to score and prove decisive. If you think of him in the tournament, he has got into good positions going forward and I think Spain will do their homework and close off space for Harry Kane, Foden, Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham.
“But that will leave space for a midfielder arriving late, and that Mainoo will get one from a cut-back.”
Rooney, who recently compared the Stockport-born teenager’s playing style to former teammate Bastian Schweinsteiger, went on to suggest that Mainoo will become one of the best players in the world.
“His maturity is so impressive,” said the Plymouth manager. “The other youngsters — Williams, Yamal, Bellingham, Foden — all play in attacking positions whereas Mainoo, at 19, is excelling in one that requires enormous discipline and game understanding.”
Rooney added: “Williams will also, very soon, surely be regarded as one of the world’s best. We need players to replace Lionel Messi and Cristiano [Ronaldo] at the top of the tree and Williams, Mainoo, Foden, Bellingham, Yamal — alongside Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland — are the ones you hope and expect to go and do that.”
Ahead of Sunday’s final in Berlin, Gareth Southgate hailed the influence of Mainoo on his team.
“I think all of his performances have been exceptional, especially when you consider his age. We haven’t really had a player like him until now,” he said after their semi-final win over the Netherlands.
“It makes such a difference when your midfield players can receive [the ball] pressed and turn with the ball so easily and comfortably. It looks simple when he does it, but it isn’t simple.
“But I thought him and Phil popping up in spaces, Jude [Bellingham]… our movement was really good. That caused a lot of problems and forced them to adapt how they were without the ball.”
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