Lineker hit out at England's display in a 1-1 group-stage draw with Denmark on his podcast, The Rest is Football, in comments that attracted a fierce response from captain Harry Kane.

Kane responded by saying former England players in the media had a "responsibility" when it came to discussing the national team, calling on them to be more supportive.

Alexander-Arnold, however, says many in the camp agreed with Lineker's criticism and feels some used it as motivation as the Three Lions grew into the tournament, finishing as runner-up to Spain.

"We had all seen it and heard it and felt it," the Liverpool star told The Daily Mirror. "We all knew that we could be playing and performing better.

"It is never nice for someone to point that out but everyone deep down knew it within ourselves, too.

"It was something we were already thinking about, we knew we needed to be better. We had to add that to our performances, some players may have used that as motivation."

England created chances worth just 6.15 expected goals (xG) in its seven games in Germany, with only Scotland (0.32), Serbia (0.7), Slovenia (0.81), Albania (0.82) and Italy (0.84) averaging a lower xG figure per game than its 0.88.

The Three Lions needed a stoppage-time overhead kick from Jude Bellingham to overcome Slovakia in the Round of 16, a penalty shootout to advance against Switzerland in the quarter-finals and a last-minute Ollie Watkins winner to beat Netherlands in the semi-finals.

After England's dramatic run ended with a 2-1 final loss to Spain, manager Gareth Southgate announced his resignation after eight years at the helm.

Alexander-Arnold believes the Three Lions' aim for the 2026 FIFA World Cup must be to get over the line and win the trophy, promising the squad will give its all for Southgate's successor.

"Everyone has a high expectation with England now and rightly so, it is true of us as players," he added.

"We feel we should be winning tournaments, that is the goal and standard we have set ourselves. That will be there for the new manager."