Former England international Alan Smith has said Roy Hodgson’s team at Euro 2016 are playing better than any England side in the past 15 years.
A disappointing night in Saint Etienne on Monday resulted in a frustrating 0-0 draw against Slovakia, meaning a second-place finish in Group B behind Wales.
Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ from Paris, Smith hit back at criticism levelled at Hodgson’s side.
“In hindsight, everybody’s an expert, aren’t they? Pointing to the result, it wasn’t ideal and the fact that they’ve not topped the group, that wasn’t ideal,” he said.
“But are you telling me they didn’t play as well as they did against Russia? I think they did.
“Goals change games and they change perceptions and the fact we didn’t score has got people saying we made mistakes but I don’t think we did, I firmly believe that.
“We’re playing better in this tournament than we have for 10 or 15 years in tournaments. We shouldn’t forget that and if we can take that forward, we should feel confident.”
Speaking live from SSN HQ, former England international Rob Lee said he believed the key to a victory at Monday night’s game would have been if England had scored early on.
“They could convert one of them, would be nice,” Lee joked after being asked what England could do better.
“It would’ve been a completely different game, if Vardy had scored early. We could have got three or four goals.
“It was very difficult for us because the opposition sat back and when they sit back that far, you have to get a goal and you have to get it early.”
However, Lee reminded England fans it was not all bad news as their team have still managed to qualify for the final 16.
“I don’t think we’re doing a lot wrong. I understand that people expected us to win the group but I think in the three games we played pretty well. We just haven’t converted all the chances we created,” Lee said.
England play the runner-up in Group F, which includes Portugal, Hungary, Iceland and Austria, in Nice on Monday.
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