It’s no secret that Gareth Southgate isn’t exactly the most popular man in English football. He may have guided the men’s team to their best finishes at major tournaments since the 1966 FIFA World Cup, but fans are rapidly falling out of love with his stale brand of football.
England were held to a goalless draw in Köln by Slovenia, but qualified as group winners nonetheless and head back to their Blankenhain training camp safe in the knowledge that they won’t face Spain, Portugal, France or Germany until the EURO2024 final.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Three Lions boss acknowledged that he “understands the narrative,” but highlighted the fact that he “has not seen any other team qualify [for the knockouts] and receive similar.”
“However they feel towards me, I get it. I’ve been around England for twenty years, I’ve seen it. My job is to guide the team through this and get the best out of the team, to keep things in perspective for them and I’m very happy with the way they’ve handled the last few days.”
Southgate has repeatedly spoken about the unusual atmosphere surrounding England at EURO2024, but he insists that he is “in a really good place” and is ready to lead the team into the knockout stages.
The full-time whistle was met by a chorus of noise, predominantly boos from the England fans directed at Southgate. Three cups of beer were also thrown in his direction, but he remains defiant and praised the “exceptional” fans, adding that their support “makes such a difference.”
On the performance itself, Southgate commented: “I’m very happy with what they [the players] did. Of course we’d have loved a couple of goals to send everybody home happy but we were definitely an improvement on the last game.”
“Our first objective was to qualify, our second objective was to win the group.”
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