- England were underwhelming in their 1-1 draw with North Macedonia
- Gareth Southgate’s men struggled to create any clear cut chances
- Trent and Bellingham can play together but can’t get in each other’s way – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off
Stuart Pearce has warned ‘alarm bells’ should be ringing for England after their insipid draw against North Macedonia on Monday night.
The Three Lions ended their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign unbeaten and top of Group C, but were lacklustre in Skopje and managed just two shots on goal against a team that is 62 places below the in the FIFA rankings.
Enis Bardhi put the hosts ahead in the first half as he tucked home the rebound after having his penalty kick saved by Jordan Pickford, before Gareth Southgate’s men drew level through a Jani Atanasov’s own goal on the hour mark.
England pushed for a winner but looked ponderous in possession and never created any clear cut chances, a display reminiscent of their laboured 2-0 win over Malta at Wembley on Friday.
And Pearce suggested Southgate should be worried by the lack of creativity in his side.
England were held to a 1-1 draw by North Macedonia in Skopje on Monday night
Stuart Pearce warned England should be concerned by their lack of creativity
‘I have got to say alarm bells will be ringing in regards to these two games [Malta and North Macedonia],’ the former England full-back said on talkSPORT.
‘We just haven’t been able to break teams down freely. I think that is an Achilles heel of ours.
‘As a counter-attacking team, where teams come on to us, we aren’t bad when we have space. But we’ve got to work out how to break these teams down.
The Three Lions have mustered just five shots on target over the past two games and Pearce believes Southgate must get their players to be braver in possession.
‘I think our build-up from the back line is too slow and easy to defend,’ he said.
‘We are too slow in midfield. We need to mix it up. There are too many short passes.’
With England already qualified for the summer’s tournament as group winners, the match provided opportunity for some fringe players to stake their claims for potential spots in the squad.
Rico Lewis made his senior England debut, while Harry Kane was rested with Ollie Watkins starting up front and Trent Alexander-Arnold again deployed in midfield.
Trent Alexander-Arnold started in midfield but struggled to control the game as he did against Malta on Friday night
Gareth Southgate insisted he was pleased with his team’s performance
The injured Jude Bellingham was unavailable and his absence was badly felt, just as it was against Malta.
The Real Madrid star set up three goals and scored once in his last two England appearances against Australia and Italy and the Three Lions have looked devoid of ideas without him.
Southgate, however, insisted his side played well and did well to keep their focus having already qualified for Euro 2024.
‘I thought the performance was good, mentality was excellent,’ the England manager said.
‘I thought we played well, we totally controlled the game.
‘It was difficult with the way that they defended and the pitch not easy to get the perfect final pass.
‘But I thought there were some excellent performances within the game.’
