England once again scraped through to the European Championship semi-finals after a penalty shootout victory over Switzerland. However, the commentary from former England internationals on BBC during the match sparked fierce criticism from fans.
The commentary team, consisting of Gary Lineker, Rio Ferdinand and others, faced backlash online for their excessively optimistic remarks about England’s performance. During the half-time break of the England-Switzerland match, the commentators were effusive in their praise for the Three Lions, much to the bewilderment of fans. Lineker said, “We’ve witnessed a brilliant first-half performance from England. You can praise Saka and Bellingham, but I want to mention Manu, who turned 19 just two months ago, is the second youngest England player to start a European Championship quarter-final, with Rooney being the first.”
Ferdinand added, “This is the kind of performance we’ve been looking for. I think this England team looks like a side that knows how to press, how to keep possession and win the ball back. We’ve talked about togetherness, and I think there’s been a big improvement in England today. This is the kind of England I was hoping to see in this tournament.” BBC commentator Micah Richards also seemed pleased with England’s display, stating, “We said to control the game, have confidence. I emphasized what Switzerland could do before the game, so we’ve seen England restrict them well in terms of rotation, positioning, and playing the ball out. Switzerland had no shots on target in the first half, so England have done well.”
One fan wrote, “The BBC pundits seem to have been given a right bollocking for being honest about England’s performances in the past few weeks, and now they’re trying to make up for it by being extremely positive. That first half against Switzerland wasn’t brilliant.” Another fan humorously commented, “England are indeed playing more positively, but not as positively as the BBC pundit team.” A third fan sarcastically remarked, “Zero shots on target at half-time, yet the BBC pundits make you feel like they’re playing like Brazil in ’82!”
Jamie Carragher, former England international and current Sky Sports commentator, tweeted, “England are 2-0 up on the BBC, but they are 0-1 down on Twitter!”
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