60% possession at the end of the game, playing like a mid-range team

Journalist Danny Murphy wrote on the Daily Mail: "I feel sad for the England team because everyone saw their efforts. It seems that coach Gareth Southgate has too much respect for Spain. Just look at the formation. It is too safe and does not cause any damage."

Last night, coach Gareth Southgate decided to return to the 4-2-3-1 formation, contrary to the majority of experts' opinions. The 53-year-old coach abandoned the 3-4-2-1 formation, sacrificed the wings Kieran Trippier and Bukayo Saka, did not use 3 central defenders, and did not put Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham in the same attacking midfield position.

Kieran Trippier is one of the two players who played poorly for the Three Lions.

"I don't understand where the connection between the players from the match against the Netherlands disappeared. In midfield as well, Mainoo had too little space to move. We let Spain control the midfield without Rodri on the pitch," wrote Mr. Danny Murphy.

Unlike Murphy, former player Jamie Carragher spoke up to defend coach Gareth Southgate, placing the responsibility on the Three Lions' star players. "In international tournaments, you can't expect coaches to decide the outcome of the match. The stars have to do that.

"The big players didn't do anything against Spain. We had about 60% possession in the final stages, but we played like a mid-table team. Southgate is not to blame. Our most expensive players couldn't do anything against Spain," Carragher said.

Jamie Carragher defends coach Gareth Southgate.

"To be honest, I don't have a close relationship with Southgate. I'm not defending him, but it's clear that Southgate is always careful in his substitution decisions. Things are different this time around.

He's been decisive with his personnel and it's been very effective. The real problem is the stars," Carragher added.

Harry Kane was the subject of criticism after the 90 minutes at the Olympiastadion ended. Last night, Kane touched the ball 13 times, misplacing half of his passes (5/10).

He lost the ball 6 times, with a success rate of only 33% (2/6) in the air. Disappointed with his student's performance, coach Southgate had to put Ollie Watkins on the field to replace Kane.