Ian Wright insists that England players have 'the right to reply' to criticism from pundits - after Declan Rice and Harry Kane hit back at negative comments over Three Lions' Euro 2024 campaign

Ian Wright has stressed that England players deserve 'the right to reply' after Declan Rice and Harry Kane hit back at pundits' criticism in the wake of England's draw with Denmark. 

A number of former players including Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand all condemed the showing by Gareth Southgate's men after their second group-stage tie, with Lineker going as far as calling the team 's***' on his podcast, The Rest Is Football. 

Kane was quick to offer a passionate rallying cry after the dust settled on Sunday, while Rice was more direct on Monday, saying that although former England stars were 'entitled to their opinion' they should consider how the players feel when targeted with negative commentary. 

'Sometimes (they should) just have that thought of process just before they speak that they have been where I'm sat, where our other players have sat, and not done well at tournaments,' Rice said. 

'We are top of the group. We need to stay positive, stay upbeat. Let's have some positivity going into games. Let's give players the best confidence in the world.'

Speaking ahead of England's third group-stage clash with Slovenia, Wright heralded both players for speaking out - but insisted that the clamour around England's performances was symptomatic of the contemporary media landscape. 

'I think you can't hide from the fact that there are more voices, there's more access to them, there's more there's more content about them, you know, in respects of the world that they live in now as professional footballers,' Wright said on ITV's pre-match coverage. 

'And you heard him (Rice) say there about the mental side of it, and I totally agree with him. You know, you see comments like "they're soft, they can't take criticism". They're the first England men's team to get to a final since 66.

'Gareth is our best manager since Sir Alf Ramsey. What these players have to go through in terms of the amount that comes from these platforms.

'It does do something. You hear them say about how it affects the young players. It must affect them, right?

'I'm glad they replied, just like he's saying about the opinion. People have their right to their opinion. People have the right to reply, and I'm quite pleased they've done that. 

'They're going to be under pressure now because people say things like, "Oh, let's see what you are. You're worried about the criticism. You should be worrying about the game." They know that.'

England will qualify top of Group C with an outright win against Slovenia on Tuesday night, but a draw could yet see them slip to second-place if Denmark beat Serbia and bolster their goal difference considerably.