Former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs has hit out at Kyle Walker and Dele Alli over their failure to reproduce their club form when they play for England.

Walker attracted plenty of criticism during Thursday’s match against Slovenia, particularly after blazing a free-kick over the bar, while Alli was largely anonymous during Sunday’s game in Lithuania.

While the likes of Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford have impressed in recent months, Giggs claims numerous England players are underperforming.

“It’s disappointing when you fall underneath the quality you have shown at your club which these England players have,” he told ITV.

“You see Kyle Walker, Dele Alli playing well for their clubs. But when they play for their country you don’t see same quality.

“The character and excitement isn’t there from when they play at their clubs.”

England booked their place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia with a 1-0 victory over Slovenia and they followed up with a win by the same scoreline in Lithuania, but Gareth Southgate’s team were unconvincing in both games.

The Three Lions have done what was expected of them in terms of qualifying, but Giggs is spot on with his observations.

Southgate has some talented players at his disposal, but his dour nature appears to have transferred itself to the squad, resulting in fans being turned off by the tedious performances.

The days where England could even pretend they were in with a chance of winning a World Cup are long gone, but it would be nice to go into a tournament knowing that the players would at least play as well as they do for their clubs.

Under Southgate that seems increasingly unlikely.