England captain Harry Kane says the Three Lions need to put their foot on the pedal and rediscover their best self despite cruising to a 2-0 victory over Malta in the Euro 2024 qualifier at Wembley.
An own goal from Enrico Pepe and a 62nd-minute strike from Harry Kane earned all three points for England whose performance was underwhelming on the day.
Kane, after the game, called for the need for every player to up their tempo to compete at the best level for their nation.
“It was not our finest performance, but sometimes you play a team who have got more quality than people think,” he said.
“At the start, we missed the right tempo. We were sloppy and couldn’t quite build. In the second half we had more control and created chances. But overall it’s a 2-0 win”.
Although the hosts had already qualified for Euro 2024, Kane believes the intense fixture schedule and injuries afforded the Three Lions could be a reason for their struggles with individual performances needing a rise to improve the team collectively.
“We’re playing a lot of games at the moment. We have some injuries and the players coming in have to perform,” he added.
“All the players who started weren’t at their usual standard but that’s football. We maybe felt mental fatigue a little bit. We are top and have one game – hopefully, we finish with a win.”
