Paul Scholes calls on England to learn from Spain: They are far superior & if we carry on like this there is not much of a future for us

Paul Scholes(Getty Images)

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Paul Scholes believes English football must adapt and learn from the way in which Spain have progressed or the nation will face a bleak future.

England’s under-21s were somewhat fortunate to scrape a 1-1 draw last night in their opening group game in Denmark, with Danny Welbeck’s 88th minute equaliser denying a Spanish side that had dominated the game with over 60 per cent of possession.

And Scholes, the recently retired midfielder who was lauded across the continent by the likes of Xavi and Zinedine Zidane, believes that comfort in possession and playing as a team sharing one identity are ways in which England can improve; if not, they risk losing their place among world football’s elite.

“You go from your Barca’s to your Spanish national teams and even the Under-21s last night, they’re in a different league it looks like with the ball,” Scholes told Sky Sports News.

“Although the game did finish 1-1, I think if you were English you would have to think you’re a bit lucky.

“Just technically, they’re far superior to anything where we are at the minute.

“We think we’ve got top young players and then you play against these players. A lot of them aren’t heard of over here, but you look at how good they are at taking the ball and passing the ball to each other.

“And more than anything they play as a team. When you see a team like Spain and Barca do five-yard passes, they’re not trying to do anything flashy but everything they do is effective. These players are so confident on the ball they’ll take the ball anywhere, and they’ll play all day and they can make you look silly.”

Scholes was frequently deployed down the left flank for England and retired from international duty at the age of 29. He believes that the Three Lions, both as a team and as individual players, have much to learn from the world champions.

“When I was with England it was like ‘come on let’s get stuck in to them, lets tackle them’,” added Scholes.

“But you just can’t get near them to do that and as long as we carry on like that, there’s not much of a future for us.

“I think the biggest thing about Spain is they play as a team, there’s not one star.

“They all just play little five-yard passes and pass and move and they work so hard to get the ball. It’s a lesson that hopefully English players can learn.”