Johnny Phillips: Gareth Southgate needs to send out a statement of intent

The way England sat back after conceding the equaliser infuriated onlookers, too.

When control of the game needed to be secured, England regressed and allowed Denmark to come onto them time and time again.

There is often a lack of intensity to England performances in tournament football that is at odds with the way the country’s players approach the game in the Premier League.

Very rarely does the side open up and attack in numbers, instead preferring to sit behind the ball in a patient manner at odds with domestic football.

Denmark never had to deal with any pressing football from their opponents and found it easy to play the ball from defence through midfield. Behind Harry Kane, there seemed a lack of energy from Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham.

Whether that was through form or playing to instructions, I’m not sure, but it meant Denmark always had an easy out.

Further back, Declan Rice and Trent Alexander-Arnold partnered in the deeper role.

This was only the third time, after a 1-0 Nations League defeat to Hungary in June 2022 and Sunday’s opener against Serbia, that Rice, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Bellingham have started a game together in the central positions.

Southgate’s desire to get Alexander-Arnold into the starting XI is understandable given the qualities he possesses and his outstanding set-piece delivery.

But on this evidence, it is perhaps an experiment too far.

A different formation could see Alexander-Arnold back in a more familiar club role, with Kyle Walker moving inside, but for now the Liverpool man is likely to be b enched.

Surely, the best option sees Bellingham drop back into a deeper midfield position alongside Rice, allowing Cole Palmer or Anthony Gordon to join Saka and Foden further forward.

As is often the case at major tournaments after a long domestic season, there was an element of fatigue that crept into this second group game. Kane looked isolated and bereft of support up front.

Bellingham’s lack of energy after a fine opening game also stood out.

The 20-year-old put in a great display against Serbia on Sunday but he appeared out on his feet early on against Denmark.

There was a big moment in the latter stages of the game when, having been sold short by a poor pass from Walker, Bellingham could not find the energy to track back and it allowed Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to burst forward and fire an effort narrowly wide, one of many that rained down on the England goal in the second half.

Bellingham came into this game on the back of a fantastic first season at Real Madrid which only finished with their Champions League final win over Borussia Dortmund on June 1. He will have to dig deep into his reserves for the remainder of the tournament.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though.

The form of centre-back Marc Guehi in these opening two games has been impressive and he looks a good fit for the big stage.

He has made one mistake across those two matches and he recovered from it brilliantly.

His no-nonsense approach to defending, positional sense and assuredness on the ball have marked him out as one of England’s best players so far.

Looking ahead to the Slovenia match on Tuesday night, there needs to be more intensity to the football England play.

It should be more of a reflection of the football these players are involved in week in and week out in the Premier League.

They need to be higher up the pitch, be prepared to commit numbers forward and take a few risks when trying to break sides down.

Southgate’s team is in a fantastic position and Slovenia are nothing like the stronger opposition that will test them in the later stages of the tournament.

It would send the right message out to the entire squad – not to mention the supporters – if England approached the match in a far more positive fashion.