Gareth Southgate admits he could step down as England manager because of the criticism he has faced.
The 52-year-old will spend time considering his future after the World Cup quarter-final defeat to France on Saturday.
England played so well they arguably should have beaten the world champions and the manner of defeat means many want Southgate to stay on, at least until his contract expires after Euro 2024 in Germany.
But Southgate is conflicted, on the one hand loving aspects of the job but on the other having to face an extraordinary amount of criticism despite being one of England’s most successful coaches.
Southgate has transformed the team during his six years in charge, reaching the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup and finishing runners-up at Euro 2020.
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After the European Championship final defeat to Italy at Wembley, when England came within a penalty shootout of lifting a first major trophy since 1966, critics still turned on Southgate, suggesting he was too defensive in the final and that a better, bolder tactician would have won the trophy.
Things turned nastier still last summer when, following a Covid-hit season after which the players were exhausted, England lost twice to Hungary and drew with Germany and Italy in Nations League games. The final defeat during that international break – a 4-0 thrashing by Hungary – ended in a toxic atmosphere at Wolverhampton’s Molineux Stadium and was followed by some difficult months during which Southgate’s credentials were questioned.
“I’ve found large parts of the last 18 months difficult,” Southgate said after the France defeat. “For everything that I’ve loved about the last few weeks, I still have [how things have been for] 18 months. What’s been said and what’s been written, the night at Wolves, there’s lots of things in my head that’s really conflicted at the moment.
“So what I want to make sure, if it’s the right thing to stay, is that I’ve definitely got the energy to do that. I don’t want to be four or five months down the line thinking I’ve made the wrong call. It’s too important for everybody to get that wrong.”
Analysis: Southgate has smashed England’s inferiority complex – they would be worse off without him
By Kevin Garside, i‘s chief sports correspondent
As Southgate ponders his next move, he does so from a position of strength, remarkable given his diminished, minimalist summer. Southgate was hurt and offended by the criticism levelled at him during the losing Nations League campaign, disappointed at how quickly fans and critics piled in, the defeats to Hungary and Italy sharpening the deeply held prejudice that he was not a coach of the highest rank, too cautious by nature and not the man to realise the potential in this rich crop.
It looked very different on Saturday as England imposed themselves on the occasion with skill and imagination. Southgate has the universal support of his players. They appreciate his soft skills as well as his technical organisation. The greatest advance here was in an area given too little thought by previous regimes but profoundly understood by Southgate. Namely the significance of the psyche. England have at last developed a mentality that allows them to stare down the best instead of endlessly deferring. Southgate has smashed the inferiority complex that had for too long held England back.
Read Kevin’s full analysis here
The majority of players want Souhgate to stay, with leading figures including captain Harry Kane, midfielder Declan Rice, experienced defenders Kieran Trippier and Luke Shaw, all sharing the same sentiment during the past few days. The Football Association is also fully behind him.
“Gareth and Steve [Holland] prepared the team exceptionally well throughout the tournament,” chief executive Mark Bullingham said. “The players were committed to winning the trophy and were led very well by Harry Kane. But sport can have fine margins.”
Bullingham added: “This is a very exciting young English squad and, despite the intense disappointment of [the France defeat], they should be very proud of their performances in Qatar. We are incredibly proud of Gareth, the players, the coaches, and the support team and appreciate all the hard work they put in.”
Perhaps the young core of the squad Southgate has nurtured to this point could convince him to remain in charge. Jude Bellingham is 19 years old, Bukayo Saka is 21, Phil Foden, 22. Rice, Mason Mount and Reece James are 23. Trent Alexander-Arnold is 24 and Marcus Rashford is 25.
But Southgate will allow plenty of time to digest it all before making a decision. “When I’ve been through the past few tournaments my emotions have been difficult to really think through properly in those following few weeks,” he said.
“It took so much energy out of you and you have so much going through your mind. I want to make the right decision either way because it has to be the right one to go again, or the right one not to go again, and I don’t think tonight is the time to make a decision like that. Neither are the next few days really.”
As an example of how much the quarter-final defeat meant to him, Southgate was unsure whether or not he would be able to watch the remainder of the World Cup.
“I don’t think so,” he said at first, before adding: “I don’t know really know. I am interested to see how it goes, but I don’t know.”
Rice: I really hope he stays
Declan Rice hopes Gareth Southgate does not walk away from the national team and believes the England manager gets “a lot of criticism that’s not deserved”.
“I hope he stays,” Rice said. “Obviously, I don’t know. There’s a lot of talk around that. I think he’s been brilliant for us. I think there’s a lot of criticism that’s not deserved. I think he’s taken us so, so far. Further than what people can expect.
“[Against France] he got everything spot on again, it’s not on him. It’s not on him at all – the tactics were right, we played the right way.
“We were aggressive, we stopped [Kylian] Mbappé, he was quiet. Ultimately, it was two goals against the run of play and that’s not down to the manager, it’s down to us on the pitch.
“I really hope he stays because the core group that we’ve got and what he’s made for us, it’s so special to be a part of, I love playing under him and I love playing for England.”
The greater the talent, the greater the aim. The greater the aim, the greater the pain along the path to reaching it. This is all part of the journey to us being successful as a team. Thank you to everyone for your incredible support. We gave it absolutely everything.
— Declan Rice (@_DeclanRice) December 11, 2022pic.twitter.com/ZvOSC2Vzfk
Rice insists that “the better team lost” the quarter-final and he is confident England can continue to improve. The players believed they were going to win the World Cup.
“We’ve got to a semi-final, Euros final, crashed out here at a quarter-final, but in my opinion the better team lost and that shows how far we have come,” Rice said.
“I think the negativity surrounding [England] will go away once we have won something again. I think there will always be that pressure on us [until then].”
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