Gary Lineker has defended his, and the BBC's, view of criticism of England's early performance at Euro 2024 and admitted they “won't win”.
Lineker was accused of describing England's group game against Denmark as s***, although he later clarified that he was talking about the whole game.
That view was put forward by Three Lions captain Harry Kane at a press conference with the Bayern Munich striker saying he felt former England players had a 'responsibility' to support, especially as they went winless during their international careers.
In a BBC Sport column ahead of tonight's final between Gareth Southgate's England and Spain, Lineker felt his opinion was balanced and fair.
He wrote: “Let's be honest, England entered the final despite not playing very well when the tournament started.”
“It feels like a lot has been made of the BBC's analysis of the team, especially Harry Kane, when that happened, but what we did was say what we thought.
“We were criticizing the first few games, but everyone was criticizing you. Even the England players and manager have said since then that there was something wrong in the group games, but they have moved on now and are improving.
“At the BBC, we were saying that too. There have never been any personal attacks, on Harry or anyone else, because that's not our style – but we have to be honest about what we see. “
“I don't believe in fairy tales, but I believe in dreams.” 💫
Wise words, boss! pic.twitter.com/vi3zmPrLxK
– England (@England) July 14, 2024
Kane could end up holding the golden boot
Kane didn't play well in Germany but still has a league best of three goals and remains in the hunt for the tournament's golden boot.
And Lineker remains a huge fan of the former Tottenham man.
He added: “He may not have been at his best but he's still the best striker I think England has ever had, because he doesn't miss, and he's always a threat from anywhere.
“What we were trying to do as a team on television was to check all that, but sometimes newspaper reporters use experts to ask them their questions, because they don't have the courage to say them.
“We're used to that, and I think it's really admirable, but when England start playing well here and we're told 'Oh, you're so lovely, you've got to the top'.
“You won't win, but I think the public, if you see their response, they agree that England did not play well in their first games, and they are playing well now.”
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