Arsenal legend Ian Wright has urged England players to "play without fear" in Wednesday's do-or-die battle with Slovenia.

In his column for The Sun, Wright wrote: "No excuses. Another draw was a huge disappointment and there is no point trying to kid ourselves.

"Millions were watching at home on their TV screens and thousands of fans had paid a small fortune to get to Cape Town and watch.

"Yet against an admittedly-spirited and well-organised Algeria team, we were nothing like the side who qualified for this competition so impressively.

"On this performance, it looks as though we have gone backwards, but I want the players to prove to all of us this is not the case.

"I am still extremely confident we can beat Slovenia and ensure our passage into the next stages. You have to be 100 per cent positive.

"It's not a disaster, I would stress that. Two draws is hardly ideal and we are better than that.

"But I want each England player to start performing with no fear. I've said this so many times to my boy Shaun and Jermain Defoe, who came on as subs.

"I probably have bored them senseless but I never got the chance to play a World Cup.

"When that chance comes, as I have said to them, you have to play without the worry of failure and I sense that last night, the team were too afraid to take the game by the scruff of the neck. I can see no other explanation for such a lacklustre and incredibly frustrating display."