Sport
Gareth Southgate addresses future as England manager following Euro 2024 final defeat
The boss has spoken out.
Emily Sergeant -
15th July 2024 
Gareth Southgate has addressed his future as England manager following the heartbreaking defeat in the Euro 2024 final.
After what has been a difficult but hard-fought couple of weeks for Three Lions out in Germany at European football’s flagship tournament, England unfortunately fell at the final hurdle as they lost to 2-1 to Spain in the final of UEFA Euro 2024.
It’s fair to say that this year’s tournament was made up of both some underwhelming performances and exciting last-minute moments in the form of decisive goals to secure victories which took Gareth Southgate’s men right to their second consecutive Euros final – which took place in Berlin last night (14 July).
While millions of England fans nationwide began to believe 2024 was the year football may, in fact, be coming home, sadly it just wasn’t meant to be.
Our #EURO2024 journey comes to an end at the final stage, as the #ThreeLions are beaten 2-1 by Spain. pic.twitter.com/3oUgFANkGW
— England (@England) July 14, 2024
Now that the dust has settled, and football fans begin to wake up to a new week and prepare to crack on as normal, Gareth Southgate has addressed his future as England manager in some open and honest interviews, and has given his take on his team’s performance in the losing match and what the players maybe could have done better to have stood a chance at taking home the title.
He’s also given fans some words of hope to take with them in the immediate aftermath.
Southgate described the opportunity of getting to another Euros final as a “privilege”, but admitted that to “come up short” at the last step is “hard at the moment”.
He told the ITV following the game: “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. 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.”
When pressed on his future, and asked by the BBC about whether he will remain in his position as England manager, Southgate said he felt that it was “hard to reflect” on his eight years in charge, but that ultimately, “now is not the time for me to speak about [my future]”.
“I need to talk to the right people and give myself a bit of time,” he admitted.
"I need to talk to the right people and give myself a bit of time."
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 14, 2024
Gareth Southgate is asked if he's managed his last game for England 🗣#Euro2024 pic.twitter.com/YkGZAAvZD5
Looking forward to what’s ahead for the men’s national team, whether or not he is at the helm, Southgate had more of a positive outlook, and told ITV: “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.
“England have some fabulous players. We have been consistently back in the matches that matter. It’s the last step we haven’t been able to do.”
Read more:
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“There’s a lot to look forward to – but at this moment, it’s not any consolation.”
Featured Image – Eddie Keogh (The FA and England on Facebook via Getty)
