'Don't waste these talented players' - Former England player in warning to Gareth Southgate

England produced yet another lacklustre display in Germany, held to a goalless draw by Slovenia in Cologne, but it was enough to top Group C and set up a second-round fixture with a still-to-be-determined third-place finisher on Sunday.

England had a bit more zip about them in the second half once Southgate introduced Cole Palmer and Kobbie Mainoo from the bench.

Speaking on ITV, Neville said: “These are massive, massive talents, huge talents, and we really can’t mishandle these talents. We really will regret it. I think Gareth will as well.

“So what I would say, ahead of Sunday, is that these lads are there staring him in the face now.

“They’ve come on in the second half, they’ve improved us enormously. They’re our best technical players.

“I’d say we looked so basic again in the first half, but that’s being kind. That’s the rigid England that we’ve seen in every single tournament going back for 20 years. That second half looked like they were playing with a bit of flow.”

Neville believed England were too pedestrian in the first half.

He added: “I’m certain Mainoo will start in the next game. He (Southgate) thought Gallagher may be the option, obviously, for the energy but I think it was quite obvious that we needed someone in there who would get us playing.

“Mainoo does that. I think (Adam) Wharton is capable of that as well. I think the more substitutes we made, the less rigid we looked.

“We were so basic in the first half. It was a struggle to watch that. It moved forward a lot in the second half.

"We didn’t get the result, but there were glimpses of what we can be.”