Arsenal and England midfielder Declan Rice said in their desperate quest to win their Euro Championship games, England players exert too much pressure on themselves.
The Three Lions coached by Gareth Southgate have come under scrutiny following their unispiring display so far in group C. They struggled to a 1-0 win over Serbia and drew with Denmark 1-1, they face Slovenia on Tuesday hoping for a win to sail through to the knockout stage.
“We are all so desperate to win, to be leaders, to go out there and give people memories for lifetimes and sometimes I maybe feel like we put too much pressure on ourselves where we could just go out there and let it just take care of ourselves,” said Rice.
“We know we can be better in and out of possession and there is lots to improve on, which is a positive in a way.
“I think there is probably more pressure now from the outside just because of the seasons some of our players have had.
“If you look at the goals that our front four have scored this year, it’s over 100 between them. Of course, there is expectation because they are the best players in the world. And that goes for everyone throughout the team.
“There’s going to be that pressure. This is England [at] a major tournament. But this is our job and this is what we have to deal with.”
Southgate on his path noted that his players are not doing enough and lack intensity.
“We are not pressing well enough, with enough intensity,” Southgate said.
“We have limitations in how we can do that with the physical condition. We can’t press as high up the pitch as we might have done in the qualifiers, for example. And we are not keeping the ball well enough. We have to keep the ball better and build with more control.”
