A night’s sleep may be behind England fans but the wound is still as fresh as it was last night. It is quite hard to process that they have been knocked out of the World Cup, especially after the performance they turned in against France in the quarter-final.
It was just another one of those days where luck wasn’t in their favour with Harry Kane not being awarded three penalties in the match, the captain then blazing his second penalty over the bar but also, VAR not chalking off Aurelien Tchouameni’s opener for a foul on Bukayo Saka.
This latest heartbreak joins Croatia in 2018 and Italy last summer, yet somehow, despite being only a quarter-final, this one hurts the most. That is because the Three Lions were by far one of the best teams in this tournament and had they overcome France their chances of glory would’ve been extremely high.
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But now it is back to the drawing board but before that social media will have its usual Gareth Southgate debate. While the England boss could’ve been criticised for both Croatia and Italy, there is no doubt that he got everything spot on against Les Bleus on Saturday night.
Some will argue that Southgate’s race is run but if the head coach is given the chance to stay on in his role for Euro 2024 there will be a lot of fans in support of that decision. Despite England not having picked up a trophy over these past three tournaments under his watch, Southgate has achieved great things.
He got the Three Lions over their penalty shoot-out curse against Colombia in 2018, guided them to their first final since 1966 last year and arguably played the best football at this latest World Cup. Not to mention he has banded together the most likeable England squad in living memory which has also led to the nation falling back in love with the national team.
If the 52-year-old remains in command for Euro 2024 in Germany, which takes place in 18 months’ time, success could still be on the cards for his era as Three Lions boss.
A lot has been said about the talented youngsters at his disposal, the likes of Saka, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden to name a few. When that next tournament rolls around, these talented individuals will have a further 18 months of development under their belt at both club and international level. From their outstanding contributions in Qatar, we are likely to see more evolved players in Saka and Bellingham and they could be two of the most important players in the side.
They have already turned in excellent performances on the biggest international stage and that only means that there is a lot more to come in the future, so why not trust that in the capable hands of the man who has trusted these players to express themselves and fulfil their duties for the side?
Southgate has helped to nurture these players in this environment he has created over the past six years and if anyone deserves success with this group it’s him. No manager in England’s history has won more tournament matches than Southgate.
And the players love working with him with Rice saying how much he hopes that he will stay on. This highlights just how important Southgate is viewed for these players and if he were to leave England by force, the Football Association risks disrupting the harmony that has been built under his stewardship.
If he stays on, the players keep their trusted leader and for Euro 2024 he will have a stronger group of players who will be more evolved and wiser from their latest major tournament upset. Once again, it is likely to make them even stronger.
