Gareth Southgate refused to be drawn on his future as England manager after watching his side suffer another heartbreak in the final of the European Championship.
Three years on from losing Euro 2021, Southgate’s side were again on the wrong end of an agonising defeat going down 2-1 to Spain in Berlin.
Nico Williams opened the scoring before substitute Cole Palmer raised the prospect of another dramatic comeback with a late equaliser after coming off the bench.
But Spain replacement Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winner with just four minutes remaining to give his country a record fourth European title.
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Southgate’s future has been the subject of much speculation in recent times with the expectation he would leave following England’s exit from the Qatar World Cup in 2022 only to stay in position to lead his side to Germany.
He was again questioned about his plans following Sunday’s defeat with his contract due to expire in December.
“Now is not the time for me to speak about that,” he told the BBC. “I need to talk to the right people and give myself a bit of time.
“To get to another final… it was a privilege to have the opportunity. But to come up short is hard at the moment.”
Asked again in his press conference, he added: “I totally understand the question and understand you need to ask it, I need to have those conversations with important people behind the scenes, and I’m obviously not going to discuss that publicly first.”
Southgate watched England lose another final (Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images)
Southgate has been in charge of England since 2016 and guided the country to two European Championship finals and the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
The Euro 2024 final against Spain was Southgate’s 102nd as England manager, winning 64, drawing 20 and losing 18. Only Walter Winterbottom and Sir Alf Ramsey have managed more England games and, of coaches who have taken charge of multiple England fixtures, only Fabio Capello has a better win percentage.
Southgate joined the England set-up in 2013 as Under-21 head coach. The former Middlesbrough manager was placed in interim charge of the senior team in September 2016 following Sam Allardyce’s resignation, and his appointment was made permanent two months later.
England’s previous two major tournament showings had seen them beaten in the last 16 of Euro 2016 by Iceland and exit the 2014 World Cup at the group stages, and expectations were measured ahead of the 2018 World Cup, with the Football Association (FA) stressing a long-term plan was in place.
However, Southgate guided England to the semi-finals — the men’s team’s first major tournament semi-final appearance since 1996, and first at a World Cup since 1990. Southgate received significant praise for the much-improved, positive team culture he had shaped.
(Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
England beat Colombia on penalties in the last-16 and the victory was considered a particularly poignant one for Southgate after he missed the decisive penalty for England in the semi-finals of Euro 96. The England manager had put in work to change the mindset around penalties and ensure his side were prepared for the eventuality, and in doing so ended a run of five successive major tournament shootout defeats.
England later suffered a 2-1 extra-time defeat by Croatia in the semi-finals, having beaten Sweden 2-0 in the previous round.
Ahead of Euro 2020, Southgate wrote an open letter to supporters in the Players’ Tribune as the country emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic. He wrote about what it meant to represent England, the culture and identity of the team and expressed the importance of his side talking about issues of equality and racial injustice. The England team took the knee ahead of each Euro 2020 fixture.
Southgate’s side reached the Euro 2020 final — the men’s team’s first major tournament final since 1966. They beat Germany, Ukraine and Denmark in the knockout stages, with the victories against Germany and Denmark taking place at Wembley Stadium.
The final went to penalties after a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes. Italy won the shootout 4-3 after Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford missed their respective penalties — the latter two had been brought on by Southgate as 120th-minute substitutes.
(Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
It was anticipated the 2022 World Cup in Qatar could be Southgate’s last in charge of England. He guided the team to the quarter-finals where they were beaten by eventual runners-up France. Captain Harry Kane missed a late penalty in the 2-1 loss and it was later confirmed Southgate would continue as England manager.
England were among a number of nations who had intended to wear a OneLove armband at the tournament, considered a gesture of solidarity with LGBTQI+ people, who are criminalised in Qatar. However, they backtracked after being threatened with sporting sanctions by FIFA. Southgate later accepted members of the LGBTQI+ community felt “let down” by the decision.
Ahead of Euro 2024, Southgate opted not to select Jordan Henderson, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish, players who had previously been regular fixtures in his squad. England topped the group in Germany but Southgate faced scrutiny over his team selection and cautious approach amid concerns he was not getting the best out of this generation of attacking players. Objects from the crowd were thrown in his direction while some supporters booed his team off following the goalless group stage draw with Slovenia.
A last-minute overhead kick from Jude Bellingham saved England from a shock last-16 exit to Slovakia, before they won a third penalty shootout of Southgate’s tenure to progress past Switzerland in the quarter-finals. A last-minute Ollie Watkins goal against the Netherlands then secured their spot in the final.
“We’re giving people amazing nights,” Southgate said following the Netherlands victory. “We’ve given our supporters some of the best nights in the last 50 years. I’m hugely proud of that.”
After defeat to Spain, Southgate stated his belief that England are in “a really good position” going forward despite the disappointment they are obviously feeling.
“The players will take enormous credit for getting us to where we did but when you’re as close as that, you have to take your chance,” Southgate told ITV.
“They have represented the shirt with pride and haven’t been beaten until the very end. I just think Spain had more control of the game.
“England are in a really good position in terms of the experience they have. Most of this squad will be around for the next World Cup and maybe the next Euros.
“There’s a lot to look forward to but at this moment, it’s not any consolation.”
“Without a doubt England have 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 or eight years time,” he added in his press conference.
“We have now been consistently back in the matches that matter. Its the last step that we haven’t been able to do.”
(Top photo: Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images)
