UK Edition
English football must now deal with another period of soul-searching after an agonising near miss, but one message should be immediately dispatched by the Football Association.
Carry on Gareth.
Gareth Southgate remains the right man to lead the country to the 2026 World Cup. He should not be scapegoated for the Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.
He led the country to another final where they were deservedly beaten by a superior side, but there is no way his selections or in-game decisions were the decisive factor on Sunday night. My belief going into the game was Southgate had to stay, win or lose. Conceding an 87th-minute winner does not change that.
Judging the game in the immediate, emotional aftermath, we have to admit it was a poor display. This is no hard luck story. We cannot disguise how poor England have been throughout the tournament.
But I am going to remain consistent and argue the failure when it mattered came down to the players failing to deliver. They didn’t play with enough courage.
England’s stars froze and could never impose themselves on an excellent Spain team.
We played with a fear of losing a European Championship final whereas Spain played like it was a European Championship group game. Sadly, this was not Spain’s toughest match of the tournament.
Spain’s Euros was all about performances, whereas England’s was all about moments; the Jude Bellingham overhead kick against Slovakia, Bukayo Saka’s goal versus Switzerland, Ollie Watkins’ winner against the Dutch and Cole Palmer’s brilliant equaliser versus Spain.
A mentality issue against superior teams
As Southgate conceded in his post-match interview, we did not keep the ball well enough against a side which is capable of starving you of possession. I cannot believe Jordan Pickford was under orders to keep giving the ball away with wasteful, long kicks upfield. We did not have enough players ordering him to stop while demanding the ball. I’ve played in enough games where I could see players hiding and refusing to show themselves to take possession, hoping something will come from long, hopeful balls. Southgate is not telling them to do that. In those situations you need the biggest players to show for it and say they will accept the ball in difficult areas. Again, that is all about football courage.
For me, rather than the manager, this still comes down to a historic problem which is embedded in the national team’s psyche. We have a mentality issue when it comes to taking on superior teams in the biggest games. We never shock the world. We never go toe-to-toe with favourites and win. We too willingly adopt the role of the underdog. This has been the way for the 30 years I have watched or played for England. Are you telling me that is a Southgate issue?
For most of the final, England looked like a side playing away in a Champions League knockout game, trying to get through without conceding. This was how the England side I played in approached too many quarter-finals. The fear of losing was more obvious than the courage to go and win. Spain were missing one of their best young players, Pedri, and Rodri went off at half-time, but they still played with the belief they would win. The contrast with England’s mentality was stark.
That is a legacy of the 58 years without a trophy that has been extended. I do not accept it comes from the manager’s approach. It is too easy to pin all the responsibility on him. This has been the first tournament under Southgate we have not performed in. That’s why I believe it is on the players.
Nobody better to replace Southgate
As he has done throughout this competition, Southgate picked the best players available. Many of England’s players would get into the Spain side. That is how good Bellingham and Phil Foden are, technically. Southgate could not have anticipated the players would be so passive and lacking conviction when in possession on Sunday, or be so disappointing throughout the tournament. The elite players had to shine much more for England to win.
When Southgate made substitutions, they were effective. On that issue, Southgate has had his best tournament. So many of his changes have worked.
Those who believe the Southgate era has run its course cannot be sure there is anyone better who would want to replace him, or prove better suited for the job.
I’ve seen Graham Potter’s name mentioned, but he struggled under pressure at Chelsea. Others believe England should look to an overseas coach again. No. We tried that before and it did not bring success.
For sure, there will have to be changes. England went into the Euro 2024 qualification process as a Harry Kane team. They end it as a side built around Bellingham and Foden.
Southgate had begun the transition of the squad before Germany, blooding younger players and deciding that he was going to stick with Bellingham and Foden in the starting line-up regardless of the balance issues in the earlier games.
That is because Bellingham and Foden represent England’s future. They will be even better, more mature players by 2026. Why should Southgate stand aside and allow someone else to benefit from their brilliance given he has put in so many hard yards building the trust and confidence of the squad?
That’s the crux of the issue where I am concerned. The most important players like Southgate. They enjoy playing for him. Why risk destabilising that?
Kane still has his place, too, even if he can no longer be regarded as the focal point of the side. There has been a lot of nonsense suggesting he should not have started the final. Kane’s biggest issue for England has always been that he carries the toils of the season into summer tournaments. We have seen this before, even when he has won the Golden Boot. He shared that this time, too, but his level was not the same as for his club.
Once the World Cup qualifiers start, he will still be England’s best striker.
Elsewhere, with Kyle Walker getting no younger, England must start trusting Trent Alexander-Arnold as a right-back so he is a mainstay for the next two years. He is too good not to be in the starting XI. People keep talking about his defensive capacities. Walker was at fault for at least three goals in this tournament.
Generally, the personnel issues are small when considering the emergence of Cole Palmer and the youth of Bukayo Saka and Kobbie Mainoo.
The personnel are there to go deep at the next major tournament, too. England keep giving themselves a chance to win and it is unfair to say that is despite the manager, not because of him.
Over eight years with a record of two finals and a semi-final, Southgate has earned the right to decide the right time to go for himself. In the absence of an obvious successor, to me he still has unfinished business.
Gareth Southgate must stay as England manager – the players froze
Those who believe Southgate era has run its course cannot be sure there is anyone better who would even want to replace him