England vs Slovakia: Jack Wilshere criticised for poor first-half performance on Twitter

The Arsenal midfielder was out-of-sorts in St Etienne

Mark Critchley
Monday 20 June 2016 16:08 EDT
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Wilshere struggled to find his feet during the first half against Slovakia
Wilshere struggled to find his feet during the first half against Slovakia (Getty)

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Roy Hodgson gambled by making six changes to his England starting line-up for Thursday’s final group game against Slovakia and, by half-time, one in particular had appeared to rankle the fans.

Jack Wilshere did not cover himself in glory during the opening 45 minutes in St Etienne. Save Jamie Vardy and Joe Hart, the Arsenal midfielder had the worst pass completion rate of any England player.

Bar an excellent through ball that split the Slovak backline in half early on, Wilshere failed to make any key passes and on several occasions, a miscue or poor decision killed his team’s momentum.

It is understandable, perhaps, given Wilshere’s lack of playing time this season. This was his fourth start for his national side during the 2015/16 campaign – he only made three for his club.

The ‘rustiness’ excuse did not hold water with most England fans on social media, however, and his poor showing did not go unnoticed.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Wilshere’s first-half display…

For the record, Wilshere only misplaced four first-half passes. Tough crowd.

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