Rio Ferdinand feels Gareth Southgate "let himself down" in the Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy, as he suggested the England boss "froze" when it came to making the big calls.
Southgate's tactics worked a treat initially, as his decision to change his system to incorporate wing-backs helped England take an early lead.
Luke Shaw started the move from the left flank before racing into the box to volley home Kieran Trippier's pinpoint cross from the right.
England were on top in the opening stages as Italy struggled to work out how to deal with Harry Kane dropping deep as Trippier consistently appeared to be the free man.
But as the game wore on, Italy soon came back into it, and put pressure on England heading into the half-time break.
It was at that point that Ferdinand believes Southgate should have acted to keep his side on top, but the Three Lions' boss opted to be patient instead.
"[Italy boss Roberto] Mancini went into half-time and he used that 15 minutes better than Gareth Southgate did," Ferdinand said on his FIVE YouTube channel. "He changed the personnel, he allowed his wide player, [Federico] Chiesa, to come more central in order to link up with [Lorenzo] Insigne, brought off [Ciro] Immobile and that’s when you need a reaction from our manager.
"That’s the moment in the game where you need the manager to go, 'You know what? I’ve seen this now, let me change things.' For me personally, he changed the formation, still didn’t change things, didn’t alter the running of the game, especially in the second half."
England soon wilted under Italy's pressure, as Leonardo Bonucci finished off a loose ball in the box to draw things level.
It was only then that Southgate looked to his bench, as he brought on Jordan Henderson in a like-for-like replacement for the impressive Declan Rice, before switching formation back to a 4-3-3 with the introduction of Bukayo Saka for Trippier.
Ferdinand said he would have preferred to see one of the like of Jack Grealish, Marcus Rashford or Jadon Sancho come on and accused Southgate of trusting his exciting stars in the biggest game.
Which changes do you think Southgate should have made? Have your say in the comments below.
"We’ve absolutely gone over the hills and up mountains congratulating and applauding the manager for making decisions at this tournament, whether it be formation changes or personnel changes and this was a game where he was probably letting himself down in that sense," Ferdinand added.
"They did it in all the other games. In the biggest game, Gareth Southgate seemed like he froze and just thought: 'Let me just get to penalties and hope for the best'."
Southgate was left ruing another near miss for England having now lost in two semi-finals (World Cup and Nations League) and a final in successive tournaments.
The FA have backed him to continue in the role, but when asked about his future as manager of the team, he replied: "I don’t think now is an appropriate time to think about anything. We’ve got to qualify for Qatar.
"I need some time to go away, watch the game again, reflect on the whole tournament. I need a rest.
“It’s an amazing experience but to lead your country in these tournaments takes its toll. I need a break now. I said at the time it was great to have that internal support. You hugely value that as a manager.
“But there is also a lot to think through. It’s not about finance in any way or commitment. I don’t want to commit to anything longer than I should, and I never want to outstay my welcome.
"So, all of those things need consideration before even thinking about sitting down and talking. As I sit here today, I would want to be taking the team to Qatar."
