Philipp Lahm has expressed his belief that it may take a while before England can achieve success in major competitions.
Roy Hodgson's side recorded their worst performance at the World Cup since 1958 this summer, while Lahm's Germany won the tournament for a fourth time.
The 30-year-old Bayern Munich captain has admitted that he is perplexed by England's struggles, but feels that major competitions are becoming even harder as the quality of football improves across the globe.
Lahm told the Daily Mail: "It's difficult for me to say why that's the case. I think they've got good players and it's good they're bringing in more young players and I think it might take a while before they can be successful.
"You could see at this World Cup that it's not that easy to get that far. In the group stage it used to be the European teams who got through and the South Americans went a round further. But now everything's much tighter and it's difficult getting to the round of 16."
Lahm played 113 times for Germany in an international career that spanned 10 years before his July retirement.
Simon Sinclair
