Gareth Southgate Leaves Future as England Manager Open After Euro 2024 Final Loss
With his contract set to expire in December, Southgate has yet to determine whether he will extend his tenure to cover future tournaments like the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
In an interview with British broadcaster ITV after the final, Southgate commented, "I don’t think now is a good time to make a decision like that. I’m going to talk to the right people. It’s just not for now."
Southgate's eight-year tenure has been marked by notable achievements, making him the first England men's team manager to reach two finals and the first to reach a final outside of England since the team's only trophy win in the 1966 World Cup.
At the final whistle against Spain, Southgate was seen standing alone with his hands on his hips before congratulating Spain’s coaches. He then walked through a crowd of jubilant Spanish players to commiserate with his own players individually.
Despite his accomplishments, Southgate has had a challenging relationship with fans and the media. Initially idolized by England supporters during the team's runs to the 2018 World Cup semifinals and the Euro 2020 final, his popularity waned due to perceived cautious, defense-first tactics. This tension peaked at Euro 2024 when some fans threw plastic cups in his direction after a lackluster group stage draw with Slovenia.
"We all want to be loved, right?" Southgate said after the semifinal win over the Netherlands, acknowledging the difficulty of facing constant criticism.
When asked if coming close to a trophy twice — losing on penalties to Italy at Euro 2020 and conceding an 86th-minute goal in the loss to Spain — made him want to stay and try again, Southgate refrained from discussing his future in detail. "I totally understand the question and understand you need to ask it, but I need to have those conversations with important people behind the scenes, and I’m obviously not going discuss that publicly first," he said.
Southgate emphasized the potential of England’s young players, stating, "Without doubt England has got some fabulous young players and even the young ones now have got a lot of experience of tournaments. Many of this squad are going to be around in two, four, six years, eight years time. We have now been consistently back in the matches that matter. It’s the last step that we haven’t been able to do."
He also cited fatigue from pre-tournament injuries and the demands of extra time in two of the previous three games as factors in England’s loss. England had one less day than Spain to recover after the semifinals. "At the end the legs started to go and you start to make mistakes," he said. "The players have pushed it until the 85th minute of the final game. They’ve been incredible, really."
England’s next game is scheduled for September 7 against Ireland in the Nations League, leaving Southgate and the Football Association with limited time to make a decision regarding his future.
SportsLigue