Neville says England are not good enough to win Euro 2012

Published on Monday 10 October 2011 01:17

Former England defender Gary Neville does not believe the current side is good enough to win Euro 2012 and has criticised the players for having “no mobility and very little invention”.

The ex-Manchester United right-back, now working in the media, won 85 caps for his country but was part of a number of sides that failed to deliver at major tournaments.

Friday’s 2-2 draw in Montenegro ensured England’s qualification for next summer’s European Championships, but Neville has highlighted a number of areas in the squad that he believes will stop Fabio Capello’s men from making an impression in Poland and Ukraine. England will start the tournament without the suspended Wayne Rooney following his red card, but he feels there are greater problems to address.

In his Sunday newspaper column, Neville said: “The real issue is that the spine of the team is not good enough, as it stands, to take on Spain, Italy, France or Germany at Euro 2012.

“We’re now talking about Rooney possibly missing two games of Euro 2012 when what we should be talking about is the spine of a team that has no mobility and can’t keep the ball. When I look at it coldly, a team that has John Terry, Gary Cahill, Scott Parker, Gareth Barry, Darren Bent and Rooney in its central positions is nowhere near good enough to take on the major nations such as Spain.

“I”m not having a go at individuals; there are some very good players among those names but, Rooney aside, there is hardly any pace, very little invention and hardly any rotation of positions.”

England play world champions Spain in a friendly at Wembley on 12 November and Neville says because of the players the visitors have, the match is very important. “Compare [England] with the spine of Spain: Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Xabi Alonso, Xavi, David Villa and Fernando Llorente. That’s the issue Fabio Capello has to resolve and why the friendly is much more than a practice match. Never has a friendly been more important.” Meanwhile, the referee who sent off Rooney believes the striker’s reaction to his decision could spare him a longer suspension.

German official Wolfgang Stark dismissed the Manchester United man for a kick at Miodrag Dzudovic, meaning he is certain to miss the first game of next summer’s European Championships.

That one-game ban could be increased to two, though, depending on how Uefa views the incident.

But Stark praised Rooney for how he accepted the decision and was quoted in a number of newspapers as saying: “He accepted it without dissent. It was a straight red card.

“Rooney knew by his reaction and he just walked off. It is up to Uefa what they will do.”