England boss Gareth Southgate let down by three players in Belgium draw as Euro 2024 looms

England boss Gareth Southgate let down by three players in Belgium draw as Euro 2024 looms

WATCH NOW: Sports round-up as England draw with Belgium at Wembley

Jack Otway

By Jack Otway


Published: 27/03/2024

- 08:17

Updated: 27/03/2024

- 12:44

The Three Lions will have to do better if they're to win the competition this summer

England had Jude Bellingham to thank as they secured a 2-2 draw against Belgium on Tuesday night, with the Three Lions struggling for the second home game in a row.

Ivan Toney scored at Wembley after starting in place of Harry Kane but a brace from Youri Tielemans put the visitors in pole position to secure victory.


It looked as though England were heading for a second home defeat after losing to Brazil on Saturday night, only for Bellingham to net in the 95th minute to spare Gareth Southgate's blushes.

GB News now takes a look at three players who weren't good enough with Euro 2024 creeping closer.

Jordan Pickford

England Jordan Pickford Lewis Dunk

England duo Jordan Pickford and Lewis Dunk struggled in the Three Lions' draw with Belgium at Wembley

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Jordan Pickford has always been a good asset for England over the years.

The Everton star impressed in World Cups in 2018 and 2022, while he also sparkled as the Three Lions reached the final of Euro 2020.

But this was a rare off-night for Pickford, whose early mistake allowed Tielemans to open the scoring.

The England goalkeeper was under no pressure as he gave the ball away and Southgate didn't look too impressed on the touchline.

To Pickford's credit, he made a good save to thwart Jeremy Doku after his blunder. Errors like this can't be repeated on the big stage and when it truly matters, however.

Lewis Dunk

Lewis Dunk was poor against Brazil on Saturday.

And the Brighton star struggled once again, with the centre-back making a mistake with a simple appearance which then allowed Romelu Lukaku to set up Tielemans.

England are currently struggling with centre-backs.

Harry Maguire was sidelined prior to the clash, Ben White doesn't want to know and John Stones was forced off after just 10 minutes to give Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola another injury to contend with.

It's a problem position for Southgate, one England must combat to boost their chances of glory in the summer.

Ben Chilwell

Ben Chilwell has long been one of the most consistent left-backs in the Premier League.

Yet the Chelsea star's performance against Belgium will do little to silence his critics.

Chilwell struggled to pose a threat and looks to be a shadow of his usual self, having struggled with injuries over the past couple of years.

England will be hoping Luke Shaw is fit for the Euros in the summer, with the Manchester United defender the best left-back Southgate can call on.

If not, the prospect of Chilwell starting in Germany is a likely one. Based on this evidence, that's enough to set alarm bells ringing.

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Gareth Southgate verdict

England Jude Bellingham Belgium

England boss Jude Bellingham celebrates his goal against Belgium at Wembley

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Speaking after the contest, Southgate expressed a belief that England had conceded 'poor' goals against Belgium.

However, he insisted the Three Lions dominated proceedings and deserved more than a draw.

"I thought we controlled the game – possession tells us that – and we created a lot of chances so the piece of our game where the quality wasn't there [against Brazil] was much better tonight," he said.

“Yes, we conceded poor goals and were vulnerable in the transition but that's the trade-off we had with the profile of players on the pitch.

"I thought with the character shown, we really deserved to take something from the game."

England Gareth Southgate

England boss Gareth Southgate was pleased with his side's performance in Belgium draw

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He added: "We probably had 15 players on a long list missing tonight, so there is a lot to think about and assess.

“Some of the injuries will be back in a short period of time and some in the latter stages of the season, so it'll be unclear until the latter stages of the season."

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