Euro 2024 final: ‘England will lift a major trophy soon but I don’t want to wait’ – Gary Lineker

Harry is the type of player who likes to drift into midfield, drop deep and get on the ball – he’s a brilliant passer of the ball – but he has still got three goals in this tournament.

I don’t think I’ve been critical of him at all, actually. I’ve only ever talked about his strengths and, not necessarily weaknesses, but the things he does and doesn’t do in his game.

He might not have been at his absolute best but he is still the best finisher that I think England have ever had, because he just does not miss, and he is a constant threat from pretty much anywhere.

All we were trying to do as a panel on TV was evaluate all of that, but sometimes newspaper journalists use pundits to ask their questions for them, because they have not really got the courage to say it themselves.

Instead, they will go “Gary Lineker says you weren’t very good”, which is not exactly true and I always think “Well, say it yourself, if that is how you feel”.

We are used to that though, and I guess it is a compliment really, but then when England have started playing well here we then get told “Oh you are being too favourable, you have gone over the top”.

You can’t win, basically, but I think the public, when you see their response, agree that England did not play well in their first games, and they are playing well now.

So, I think most people get where we are coming from. It is our job to be critical, to be analytical and to say exactly what we think, and I think we’ve done that, and done it in a very fair way.