Soccer

We’ve been very, very lucky says Gary Neville after England’s Slovakia scare

The pundit said Gareth Southgate must change “something dramatically.”

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville before the Premier League match at Kenilworth Road, London. Picture date: Friday May 3, 2024.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville before the Premier League match at Kenilworth Road, London. Picture date: Friday May 3, 2024. (Bradley Collyer/PA)

Gary Neville insisted England must change “something dramatically” after their Slovakia scare.

It was another underwhelming performance from Southgate’s side until goals from Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane overturned Ivan Schranz’s opener for Slovakia.

Former England defender Neville told ITV: “Sweet Caroline doesn’t sound very sweet. Relief is the word of the day.

“We’ve been very, very lucky and we should thank our lucky stars because we were woeful and we’ve been woeful now for four games.

“Not even in extra time did we play well and Slovakia were unlucky at the end.

“We’ve got to change something dramatically and Gareth will realise tonight that he was so close to the edge.”

Ian Wright was not impressed with what he saw
Ian Wright was not impressed with what he saw (Nigel French/PA)

Fellow pundit Ian Wright agreed that it was difficult to be optimistic, despite England making the last eight of the tournament.

Wright told ITV: “It’s very difficult to look at England and feel confident going forward.

“We just showed that we’ve got two players who are capable of pulling it out of the fire for us.”