Gareth Southgate admitted that EURO2024 could be his last dance with England if the Three Lions fail to bring football home this summer, despite previously admitting that the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States will be an “amazing tournament.”
Speaking with German newspaper Bild, Southgate admitted that he “probably won’t be here anymore” if England don’t claim their first major trophy since 1966 this summer. Now in the eighth year of his tenure, the 53-year-old’s contract expires in December and he has been linked with a move to Manchester that would see him replace Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.
“I think about half of the national coaches go after a tournament – that’s the nature of international football,” he expressed, emphasising the fact that he has “been here for almost eight years now, and we’ve been close.”
Embed from Getty ImagesUnder his guidance, England reached the semifinals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and fell painstakingly short at EURO2020 as they suffered a penalty shootout defeat to Italy in a Wembley final that was marred by crowd trouble.
That was swiftly followed by a quarterfinal exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with France eventually going on to make the final before losing on penalties to Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
“I know that you can’t constantly stand in front of the public and say: ‘Please, a little more’, because at some point people will lose faith in your message. If we want to be a big team and I want to be a top coach, then you have to deliver in the big moments,” he told Bild.
England open their EURO2024 campaign on June 16 when they face Serbia in Gelsenkirchen at 20:00 BST [21:00 CEST]. FromTheSpot will deliver detailed coverage of that match, and you can read more about the Three Lions’ opponents in Group C here.
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