Ian Wright insists England players have ‘the right to respond’ to pundits’ criticism – after Declan Rice and Harry Kane hit back at negative comments about Three Lions’ Euro 2024 campaign

Ian Wright has stressed that England players deserve “the right to respond” after Declan Rice and Harry Kane responded to criticism from pundits following England’s draw with Denmark.

A number of former players, including Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand, have all condemned the performance of Gareth Southgate’s men following their second group stage draw, with Lineker going so far as to brand the team ‘s ***” on his podcast, The Rest is Football.

Kane was quick to issue a passionate rallying cry after the dust settled on Sunday, while Rice was more direct on Monday, saying that while the former England stars were “entitled to their opinion”, they should think about how players feel when they are targeted with negative comments.

“Sometimes (they should) just think about the process right before saying they’ve been where I’m sitting, where our other players have been sitting, and they haven’t done well in tournaments,” he said. Rice said.

“We are at the top of the group. We have to stay positive, stay optimistic. Let’s have some positivity in games. Let’s give players the best confidence in the world.

Gary Lineker had already spoken about the team’s sad performance against Denmark last week.

Declan Rice was among the stars to face the wave of criticism from former professionals

Speaking ahead of England’s third group stage clash with Slovenia, Wright praised both players for speaking out – but insisted the clamor around England’s performances was symptomatic of the contemporary media landscape.

“I think you can’t hide the fact that there are more voices, there’s more access to them, there’s more content about them, you know, as far as the world in which they now live as professional footballers,” Wright said. said on ITV’s pre-match coverage.

“And you’ve heard him (Rice) talk about the mental side, and I totally agree with him. You know, you see comments like ‘they’re soft, they can’t take criticism.’ the first England men’s team to reach a final since ’66.

“Gareth is our best manager since Sir Alf Ramsey. What these players have to experience in terms of the amount that comes from these platforms.

“It does something. You hear them talk about how much it affects young players. This must affect them, right?

England will look to end their Group C woes with a resounding victory against Slovenia

“I’m glad they responded, just like he said about the opinion. People are entitled to their opinion. People have the right to respond, and I’m very glad they did.

“They’re going to be under pressure now because people are saying things like, ‘Oh, let’s see what you are. You worry about the criticism. You should worry about the match.” They know that.

England will qualify top of Group C with a comprehensive victory over Slovenia on Tuesday night, but a draw could still see them slip to second place if Denmark beat Serbia and significantly strengthen their goal difference.