Run It Back, England
It would be a mistake for the Three Lions to split with Gareth Southgate after their narrow quarter-final defeat to France.
England’s elimination from the World Cup raises the same predictable questions, starting — and ending — with the debate about Gareth Southgate’s future.
Because even he isn’t sure whether he should stick around for the rest of his contract, which expires after the European Championship in 2024.
“After every tournament, we’ve sat and reviewed and reflected,” the 52-year-old said when asked about his future by ITV. “That needs a bit of time so everybody makes the right decisions.”
Southgate was reflective after the final whistle blew, telling reporters that he felt the Three Lions deserved more than a 2-1 loss to France.
“I just said to the players, I don’t think they could have done any more,” he explained. “I thought they played well against a top team, but it’s fine margins. I thought the way this group progressed throughout the tournament was fantastic.”
Southgate also backed Harry Kane after his penalty miss and refused to criticise referee Wilton Sampaio.
“We win and lose as a team,” he said, bluntly.
Before the tournament started, Southgate was under serious pressure. He had just presided over England’s relegation to the second pool of the Nations League, but that wasn’t even the worst part.
The former Middlesborough midfielder was accused of implementing a turgid brand of football that failed to make the most of the world-class talents in his national pool.
It was fair criticism.
England’s 3-4-3 almost took them to the summit at Euro 2020, but it could clearly take them no further. It was time to try a new approach — one that would ‘release the handbrake’ for the likes of Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka — and Southgate obliged.
The Three Lions moved to a 4-3-3 in Qatar and produced some of their best football in recent memory. They attacked with high and wide central midfielders, pressed with genuine intensity, and — most importantly — played up to their potential.
In the end, they were eliminated by another elite squad — which includes the world’s best player and more than a handful of returning champions — by the finest of margins.
England created three clear-cut chances and converted one of them.
France produced three similar looks and took two of them — the first of which is a contender for goal of the tournament.
It was a very close match, decided by three high-quality moments and an all-time penalty spot blunder. It doesn’t (or shouldn’t) provide a =reason to sack the coach, or for him to opt for an early exit.
“He has taken us so, so far — further than people can expect: tonight he got everything spot on and it’s not on him,” an emotional Declan Rice said.
“The tactics were right, we played the right way, we were aggressive and we stopped [Kylian] Mbappe, who was quiet. It was two goals against the run of play and that’s not down to the manager, it’s up to us on the pitch. I really hope he stays because the core group that we’ve got and what he has made for us is so special and I love playing for him and I love playing for England.”
England have improved across the board under Southgate.
Granted, the player pool has bloomed since Roy Hodgson’s exit — but that only scratches the surface of the depth of development on and off the pitch in recent years.
Southgate inherited a fractured squad that felt uncomfortable under the spotlight. Today, the situation is unrecognisable. There is now accountability, leadership, and confidence throughout the squad — which are usually the ingredients needed to win.
But the Three Lions haven’t won anything yet, and have little evidence to suggest they have the intangibles required to make it over the hump. Unfortunately, Southgate’s side are stuck in a negative cycle.
To end their silverware drought, England must develop championship swagger. But it takes a trophy to develop the swagger of a champion. It’s a Catch-22 — one that they are so close to (… and yet so far from) shattering.
Will they be able to snap the streak with Southgate in charge?
Many will argue that now is the perfect time to replace him with a proven winner. But football has never been that simple. Tottenham Hotspur replaced ‘loser’ Mauricio Pochettino with ‘winner’ Jose Mourinho and quickly flamed out.
Then, Pochettino caught the train to the capital of France and lifted every domestic title available with Paris Saint-Germain. If he can break the cycle of losing, why can’t Southgate — who has led England’s men to highs unlike anything since 1966?
For those in the ‘Southgate In’-camp, there must be a recognition that he isn’t perfect.
His treatment of Trent Alexander-Arnold is deeply questionable and concerns continue to hover over his in-game management. But he has taken England this far — much further than his predecessors who failed to tame fragile egos, ‘top four’ fracas, and waning superstars.
In sports, ‘the last dance’ is an overused phrase that has been distorted beyond recognition. If Southgate stays for EURO 2024, it won’t be that.
The Three Lions haven’t won so much as a raffle (yet), they aren’t the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s (yet), and Harry Kane certainly isn’t Michael Jordan (yet). But the next European Championship offers a natural conclusion.
After so much progress, Southgate has earned the chance to see if his process works.
Run it back, England. For one last time.