England manager Gareth Southgate brave to substitute Harry Kane against Denmark, says Theo Walcott

Theo Walcott thinks manager Gareth Southgate "made a big call" in substituting England captain Harry Kane in the 1-1 draw with Denmark and that substitutes will be key going forward in Euro 2024.

Despite opening the scoring against the Danes in the Group C clash in Frankfurt, Kane produced a lethargic display and was replaced by Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins with 20 minutes of the game remaining.

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Walcott, though, is still optimistic about England's chances in Germany.

"It is hard when you actually digest the games, but ultimately England have not lost, there have been performance levels that we know we can play better, we understand that, but we still managed to grind out a result," said Walcott, who has partnered with Extra Gum.

"The one positive is we have seen a slight change in Gareth's mindset in the fact he has made subs very early - I do not think we have ever seen that, and the sort of personnel he is taking off. Harry Kane is a big call, which is always the hardest to do.

"But he has done that and I feel that is a positive because if you look at the squad, he has picked other players. I just feel those players coming off the bench, it is so key, it does not matter if you start, or you come off the bench, you need to be able to affect the game.

"Ultimately, the players know if they have had a bad game or not, players know that, they understand their jobs and roles, they understand they were not at their levels.

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"But they did not lose and that is the ultimate goal of this competition, to get out of the group, and that is when the performances need to pick up as you can only go so far playing not great.

"The players will definitely hear the noise, they really will, it is just how they react from that. But I am sure they will react positively and you have to remember there is now an expectation of England to win because of the previous competitions that Gareth has ultimately generated into this setup and he has reconnected the fans.

"There was a slight disconnect I felt in yesterday's [Thursday's] game, but we need to come back and start believing again, we need to get behind them because as soon as we start putting all that negative energy into this team, it can hinder it."