Micah Richards has hit out at Erik ten Hag after the Manchester United manager criticised Gareth Southgate’s tactical approach in the wake of England’s gritty 1-0 victory over Serbia at Euro 2024 . England , one of the hot favourites at this summer’s tournament, got off to a dream start in their opener, with Jude Bellingham powering a thumping header past Predrag Rajkovic after only 13 minutes in Gelsenkirchen. Harry Kane had a header of his own pushed over the bar by Rajkovic which was as close as England came to doubling their advantage in the Group C contest and Serbia almost capitalised on the Three Lions’ lacklustre showing at the death.
Jordan Pickford was forced into a top save to deny Dusan Vlahovic and Southgate’s men were perhaps fortunate to come away from Arena AufSchalke with all three points. And while England are sitting pretty at the top of Group C ahead of their meeting with Denmark on Thursday, Ten Hag was less than impressed as he reflected on the performance while on punditry duty for Dutch broadcaster NOS – accusing Southgate of ‘gambling’ with the side’s fortunes. ‘England were playing very passive,’ the Manchester United head coach said shortly after the final whistle.
‘I actually saw them moving backwards, they kept Serbia coming at them. It’s the vision of the manager [Southgate]. ‘England will take a 1-0 lead, then he [Southgate] decides to start gambling with making his team compact and relying on moments for the remainin.