Gary Lineker was not overly impressed with England's performance against Serbia (Image: GETTY)
Gary Lineker disagreed with Gareth Southgate's decision to bring Trent Alexander-Arnold off during England's narrow victory over Serbia. Jude Bellingham's early goal handed the Three Lions a winning start to Euro 2024 but it was far from a vintage performance.
England played well in the opening stages but went off the boil after taking the lead, with Serbia growing into the game after the break. In an attempt to regain control of the midfield, Southgate replaced Alexander-Arnold with Conor Gallagher for the last 20 minutes.
Explaining the move after the final whistle, Southgate said: "In the end we wanted some fresh legs in there and Conor can obviously get to the ball quickly and we’ve got a squad and we need to use it."
Lineker, however, made it clear that he did not agree with Southgate's choice as he reflected on England's performance on The Rest Is Football podcast.
Conor Gallagher replaced Trent Alexander-Arnold with around 20 minutes remaining (Image: GETTY)
"The one thing they weren’t doing was keeping the ball and suddenly you brought on a player who is less likely to keep the ball [Gallagher] which is odd," said Lineker. "He said in his interview after that game: 'I needed protection, I needed the legs'. But I disagree with him. I think we needed someone to actually calm down."
Southgate's tendency to sit on a narrow lead has long been criticised by fans and pundits alike, with Lineker explaining that he felt it was the wrong approach despite England claiming all three points.
"It’s a little bit exacerbating when they suddenly get 1-0 in front and it’s a criticism levelled at Gareth a lot about that fact he gets ahead and the team, whether it’s by instructions or whatever, but for some reason we do tend to sit back," he added.
‘There’s almost a side of the human condition where you want to defend something when you’ve got it, but when your strength is keeping the ball and going forward and being calm, then suddenly sitting back when you can’t get out. It was a strange game."
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In spite of his grievances with their muted performance against Serbia, Lineker is confident that England will grow into the tournament as it progresses.
"It’s three points, we’ve got to remember that," he said. "I don’t think there’s any reason really to be depressed. I played in so many tournaments where we eventually performed brilliantly even though it might not have worked for us.
"I can think of the 1990 semi-final where we lost on penalties, where we started the tournament awfully and found our feet. You do find your feet in a tournament. The first game is difficult, everyone is edgy and you don’t want to lose.
"I don’t think it really makes that much difference on where England will finish. There were a few things to be positive about and a few things to be negative about, but every game is different and then suddenly you find a little spark and the world’s a better place."
