Harry Kane sends stern warning to England teammates ahead of Euro 2024 after Iceland defeat

Harry Kane has sent a stern warning to his England colleagues after Friday’s drab pre-tournament friendly defeat to Iceland.

On Friday Gareth Southgate’s side fell to a dismal 1-0 defeat against Iceland at Wembley in their last game ahead of the European Championship’s in Germany.

And England captain Kane has said the defeat may be a required wake up call ahead of the Three Lions’ opening game against Serbia on Sunday.

“This could be a nice wake-up call for everyone to realise it is not going to be as easy as people think,” said the England captain via the Mail Online.

“There is a lot of work to do. Sometimes, you need this wake-up call. There are areas we need to improve, especially with our pressure. The group games are going to be very similar to this. We are going to have to defend well, especially the longer balls, and with the ball we need to be a bit more patient. It is one to look back on."

The Bayern Munich marksman added: “We fell below our standards without the ball and that is something we have to review and get better with.

“We had spells where we did well and played some really nice football and created some good chances. But against these types of teams especially, you have to be more clinical.

“There probably wasn’t enough hunger in the duels, in the second balls and winning those. They are a big important part when you are playing these teams, to sustain the pressure and really suffocate them. We didn’t do that well.”

Kane insisted he had put his England disappointment behind him, having missed a crucial penalty during the Three Lions’ quarter final defeat to France in the Qatar World Cup.

“Pretty s***, wasn’t it?” he said of the penalty miss and loss to Le Bleus.

“In football you are going to have ups and downs on the way. Of course, that was a down for me at the moment, but I think over two years, for club and for country, I have put that to bed and I am just excited for another major tournament.

Kane admitted the Iceland defeat could be an important wake up call (Getty)

“I have said many times to judge us on the tournament form, on the tournament football. Of course, there will be some noise about Friday, but I think there is a lot of optimism from the fans and rightly so. Ultimately it is down to us to make sure we get it right on the pitch. We have a lot of fantastic players. Players who have had really, really good seasons. You can’t ignore that.

“Being so close in the last Euros (beaten in final), there is a real hunger to be back. It comes around quick if I’m honest. We had the World Cup and we are back here again. I feel like we are on the right path.

“But as we all know, it is really difficult to win these tournaments. There are a lot of things that you have to do right and prepare right, and you need a bit of luck here and there. Every winner does. We have that mindset that we can achieve it. We also know there is a lot of hard work from now until the final in July.”

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