England’s Euro 2020 heroes have been branded “scared and “miserable” by Premier League flop Pierre van Hooijdonk.
The Three Lions face Italy at Wembley on Sunday after securing their first place in a major final since 1966 by beating Denmark 2-1 on Wednesday.
But former Nottingham Forest striker Van Hooijdonk criticised their style of play and rated their displays in the tournament so far as only “average”.
The ex-Holland star hit out after covering England’s Wembley victory for Dutch TV.
The 51-year-old said: “England truly play incredibly scared football. If that is what they do with the squad they have, I think it’s really miserable.
“If they want to win the final they have to pay heed to what we are now saying.
“They were really average in the group stages as well. OK, they scored a lot of goals against Ukraine.
“But I have definite favourites for the final in Italy, and I hope they can do it.
“I am so disappointed in what England have shown so far. With their squad they should be able to serve up something more attractive.”
Fellow pundit Wesley Sneijder also weighed in against the Three Lions.
The 134-cap Holland midfielder, 37, formerly played for Ajax, Real Madrid and Inter Milan.
He told NOS: “On the basis of what we’ve just seen, Italy won’t find it difficult against England.
“The English weren’t much better in their other games at the finals. Italy are the favourites.”
But Van Hooijdonk‘s verdict was far more severe.
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His own pedigree in England, though, was far from impressive.
He was twice relegated from the top flight in three seasons before leaving Forest in 1999.
The former Feyenoord ace previously spent two years with Celtic, winning the 1995 Scottish Cup.
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