Paul Scholes says England’s ‘hard work has been wasted’ in brutal rant

Jacob Entwistle

The former Man Utd and Three Lions midfielder took to Instagram

England got the done job with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Serbia on Sunday evening, however did not entertain the mass of supporters, with Paul Scholes believing that ‘hard work has been wasted’.

Despite Jude Bellingham’s thunderous header early on, many supporters were left scratching their head at the all-round team performance and Scholes pulled no punches.

England have made serious progress in previous international tournaments, reaching the Euro 2020 final, only to lose bitterly on penalties to Italy.

In the 2018 World Cup, the Three Lions were defeated in the semi-final at the expense of Croatia in extra-time, after squandering a 1-0 lead following Kieran Trippier’s excellent free-kick.

Scholes not only feels that the progress made in past tournaments has been blown, but also omitting senior players Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish from the squad was a big mistake.

When taking to Instagram with a viral story, Scholes stated:

“Taking a bit of stick after last night, can’t help but feel the hard work from previous tournament has been wasted.

“Some brilliantly talented young players but it feels like more of a U21 squad than a senior one.

“Rashford or Grealish coming on for 20/30 minutes at the end brings speed or ball retention, don’t think we had either. Anyway, fingers crossed they improve and win it.”

Erik ten Hag breaks down England’s performance

Erik ten Hag also debuted on Dutch national television as a pundit during England’s Sunday night victory over Serbia, giving a spark post-match assessment on Gareth Southgate’s tactics:

“It’s the vision of the manager (Southgate). England takes a 1-0 lead then he decides to start gambling with making his team compact and relying on moments for the remaining minutes of the game.

“England were playing very passive. I actually saw them moving backwards, they kept Serbia coming at them.”

All eyes are now on Thursday’s clash versus Denmark as the Three Lions seek a convincing victory.

🚨🚨🎙️| Erik ten Hag on Gareth Southgate:

"It's the vision of the manager [Southgate]. England takes a 1-0 lead [vs Serbia] then he decides to start gambling with making his team compact and relying on moments for the remaining minutes of the game." pic.twitter.com/MGqy8NqJe6
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) June 16, 2024