Gareth Southgate’s side delivered an uninspiring and concerning performance and were fortunate to leave Frankfurt with a point

England had won without convincing against Serbia in their Euro 2024 opener, and the nation was looking for a response in their second game against Denmark. But they played even worse in Frankfurt than in Gelsenkirchen, even though they again took an early lead, and left with a thoroughly disappointing 1-1 draw.

It leaves them top of Group C and still with a strong chance of qualifying, but it provokes lots of questions about their prospects of going deep in the tournament.

Harry Kane poked home a loose ball from close-range after Kyle Walker’s deflected cross in the 18th minute, but as in their last game, England took a step back after scoring and invited pressure from Denmark.

The Danes levelled with a howitzer from Morten Hjulmand, but England had made things easy for them with a loose pass from Kane and slow reactions from both Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice. The Three Lions were lucky to make it into the break level and weren’t much better in the second half, despite Southgate throwing on four substitutes.

Phil Foden hit the post and Ollie Watkins caused some danger when he came off the bench, but Denmark looked much likelier to score, and if anyone deserved to win the game, it was them.

GOAL rates England’s players from Deutsche Bank Park…

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Goalkeeper & Defence

Jordan Pickford (6/10):

Can’t be blamed for the goal and stayed alert to keep out long-range strikes from Damsgaard and Hojbjerg.

Kyle Walker (7/10):

Scores highly for the role he played in creating the goal by mugging Kristiansen, and guarded the right flank well.

John Stones (5/10):

His passing was sloppy and still looked to be lacking sharpness.

Marc Guehi (5/10):

A big drop-off from his display on Sunday. Got himself out of trouble with a fine challenge on Bah, seconds after gifting him the ball. Then switched off at the resulting corner.

Kieran Trippier (6/10):

Solid enough but again offered no attacking threat.

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Midfield

Declan Rice (4/10):

His passing was off and he was far too slow to close down Hjulmand. A very poor showing considering his usual level.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (5/10):

Another display which underlined the risks of playing him in midfield. Lost the ball five times before being the first England player to come off.

Jude Bellingham (6/10):

Played a few key passes but this was a hugely disappointing drop down from his inspirational display against Serbia. His slow reactions also helped Hjulmand scoop up Kane’s misplaced pass and equalise.

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Attack

Bukayo Saka (5/10):

Couldn’t put Vestergaard under any real pressure and could not complain when he was removed.

Harry Kane (5/10):

He may have scored, but otherwise was anonymous in attack and was lacklustre when dropping deep, including handing the ball over Denmark for the equaliser.

Phil Foden (6/10):

Better than against Serbia and was the only England player to create much danger. He hit the post and took the silly decision to shoot after a marauding run when Kane was in a good position.

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Subs & Manager

Conor Gallagher (5/10):

Gave England more energy but lacked control.

Jarrod Bowen (5/10):

Didn’t get much space to do any damage and lost his footing on the slippery surface

Eberechi Eze (6/10):

Created some space with his tricky feet but didn’t know what to do next.

Ollie Watkins (7/10):

Gave England an extra weapon and sparked a few promising moments.

Gareth Southgate (4/10):

Has to take responsibility for repeating the line-up from the opener and getting an even worse performance. Also made no changes at half-time, although he did try to change the game later on.