Dietmar Hamann has stated that Liverpool FC star Daniel Sturridge and Manchester United youngster Marcus Rashford were the only two players who emerged with positives from the England vs Iceland game.
The Three Lions slumped to a heartbreaking exit from the European Championships after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Iceland, a nation whose total population is around 330,000. The exit meant another disappointing major tournament campaign for England, despite having one of the best and most well-rounded team.
Roy Hodgson resigned soon after the loss and the backroom staff including Manchester United legend Gary Neville also followed suit. Dietmar Hamann spoke strongly about the defeat.
“Some of the players should light a candle every night when they go to bed because if they were Icelandic, Portuguese, Dutch or German they would struggle to earn a quarter of money they’re on now,” Hamann was quoted as saying in the Daily Express.
The former Liverpool player then went on to state that the ludicrous amount of money some of the players were earning was down to the hugely inflated Premier League. He even went on to exclaim that the league was “a fraud”.
“It’s not their fault that the clubs are paying that money. But it’s over-inflated, the Premier League is a fraud. They pay world-class wages for above average players,” said Hamann.
The former German international then went on to state that very few of these English players would be on the radar of teams like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Barcelona, and that he couldn’t see many of them playing for any of the three aforementioned clubs in the near future.
“If you could look through the team, can you see anyone play for the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the next five years? Maybe Stones and Barkley, apart from that it’s bang average,” added Hamann. “How many of these players would be on the radar of the top clubs?”
Hamann had some soft words for Daniel Sturridge and Marcus Rashford’s cameo appearances in the Iceland game.
“You could make a case for Sturridge and Rashford, who did more in the five minutes coming on than the rest of the team going forward,” he said.
Dietmar Hamann’s words may be a tad too harsh, but they have to be taken seriously by the English players. England have flattered to deceive once again, and this time with arguably their best squad in years. The media frenzy must be calmed and now should be the right time to ask whether certain English players are worth the hype. Their performances on the international front don’t seem to be justifying it thus far.