Ryan Giggs says England are ‘petrified‘ of losing the ball in attacking positions and Kyle Walker and Dele Alli lack ‘character and excitement‘ they show at club level
ENGLAND are petrified of playing attacking football and losing the ball, according to Manchester United and Wales legend Ryan Giggs.
The Three Lions have qualified for the Russia 2018 World Cup but the atmosphere at Wembley on Monday for their send-off celebration was humiliating.
Empty seats were ominous and paper planes were the only thing that got the fans off their seat.
And Giggs, speaking to ITV before the dead rubber clash with Lithuania, believes everyone – bar United whizzkid Marcus Rashord – is scared to make a mistake.
The Old Trafford icon said: “Players are playing with fear.
"The most pressure these guys get is when they play for England.
"Apart from Rashford, everyone else looks petrified.
“It’s just imagination. When I played midfield, the first thing I thought about was passing forward, where can I hurt the opposition?
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“Is it a little dink over, is it a little playing it into the centre-forward’s feet? That was my first thought.
“Is that the first thought of this England midfield or is it ‘I better not give the ball away’”.
Giggs also recognises a dramatic deep in the form of Premier League superstars Dele Alli and Kyle Walker when they step up for the national team.
Walker has hit the ground sprinting since his £54million move from Spurs to Man City and Alli is a goal-scoring midfield master for Tottenham most weeks.
But Giggs sees a character and excitement vanish when they swap their domestic duty for international football.
Giggs said: ‘Yes [it’s disappointing] when you fall underneath the quality you have shown at your club which these England players have.
You see Kyle Walker, Dele Alli playing well for their clubs.
“But when they play for their country you don’t see same quality.
“The character and excitement isn’t there from when they play at their clubs.”
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