Angelo Ogbonna and Paolo Di Canio were disappointed with England’s performance against Serbia despite a 1-win 0 result and the former striker insists Gareth Southgate is failing to motivate his players: “Antonio Conte is different.”
England secured a 1-0 win over Dusan Vlahovic and Nikola Milenkovic’s Serbia on their EURO 2024 debut on Sunday, but their performance was not entirely convincing, at least according to Di Canio and Ogbonna.
Both West Ham icons were Sky Sport Italia pundits commentating on the match and were less than impressed with England’s performance.
Ogbonna and Di Canio disappointed by England: Southgate ‘different’ from Conte
“I think Serbia respected England too much. England played well in the first 30 minutes, but then there was a sharp decline. They were disappointing, especially in the second half,” said the Italian defender.
Former West Ham striker Di Canio agreed with his compatriot and said more about Southgate.
“Absolutely, I agree. Some players are physically exhausted and don’t have a coach to motivate them and give them five, seven or 10% more energy. Think of Antonio Conte, he is a different coach in terms of concentration and motivation,” said Di Canio.
“It’s okay to catch your breath but don’t get rid of the ball. This is a team that is not well trained. The players go onto the pitch and have to find a solution.”
Conte has just been appointed as the new Napoli manager, signing a three-year contract at the Maradona Stadium.
“He [Southgate] he’s a young coach, but he’s old school. I had some, like Redknapp or others, at Sheffield Wednesday,” Di Canio continued.
“I had coaches telling me the position on the field and saying, ‘Now it’s your turn.’ They didn’t give much instruction. England are a talented team, but they haven’t done well [contro la Serbia] after minute 30″.
England are now leaders of Group C after Denmark and Slovenia drew 1-1 in the afternoon match.
During England’s win over Serbia, Juventus winger Filip Kostic suffered a suspected muscle injury and was forced to leave the field before half-time.
