Highs and Lows of Gareth Southgate’s tenure as England manager
The 53-year-old Englishman has resigned from his managerial role in the England national football team following England’s disheartening defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 finals.
His tenure with the Three Lions comes to an end after 102 games in charge, winning 61 and losing only 17 times during his eight-year tenure. England’s 2-1 loss to Spain left Southgate and England without a trophy after their second successive European final.
Southgate’s contract with the FA was due to expire in 2026 and he flirted with the prospect of leaving the England hotseat before the summer tournament. A heartache on Sunday robbed Southgate of a fairytale ending to his international managerial career. We now take a look at some of the highs and lows of Gareth Southgate’s tenure as England manager.
The highs
The Englishman arrived in Wembley in November 2016 following the departure of Sam Allardyce who made an expected exit after 67 days at the helm. Before his arrival, England struggled to perform in major international tournaments but the Englishman led the team to qualify for every major tournament under his stewardship.
His predecessors Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson failed to get past the semi-finals even with England’s ‘Golden Generation’ which included the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and many more who were successful with their respective clubs.
Southgate’s first tournament was the 2018 World Cup in Russia where he led the team to the semi-finals before eventually losing to runners-up Croatia in the tournament. The fans once again embraced the national team and consistency became a norm for the Three Lions who established themselves as one of the toughest contenders in international football.
Without a doubt, Southgate has brought discipline and stability in his eight-year tenture with the England national football team.
The Lows
In the first half of his England tenure, Southgate maintained a positive rapport with the fans until 2022 when the match against Hungary in the UEFA Nations League became a turning point in his career. The 4-0 loss to Hungary marked England’s worst home defeat since 1928. The English supporters turned on their manager for the first time even though the side recovered well to impress in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup.
England’s performance in Euro 2024 attracted heavy criticism for the team’s reluctance to attack. But despite not winning any one of their last European finals, Southgate will go down as one of the most influential figures of the England national football team.
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