Gary Lineker believes the Euro 2024 final may end up being Gareth Southgate’s “last game in management”, with England expected to make a change.
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- Three Lions suffered more final heartache
- Manager mulling over his options
- Has taken in over 100 games at the helm
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Southgate initially took the reins as Three Lions boss on an interim basis in September 2016 following the resignation of Sam Allardyce. He was handed a permanent four-year contract in late November and has gone on to take in over 100 games at the helm.
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WHAT LINEKER SAID
England have reached a World Cup semi-final and back-to-back European Championship finals, but remain without a trophy since 1966 in the men’s game. Change is now being predicted, with Lineker telling on the back of an agonising 2-1 defeat at the end of Euro 2024: “These moments are for Spain and they’re enjoying themselves. As for Gareth Southgate I suspect this might be his last game in management. What he has brought to this England team is a harmony, a likeability that I think has re-engaged the English public towards football.”
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Lineker is, however, among those to have questioned Southgate’s tactics – which are considered to be overly defensive – and added on seeing the Three Lions come up short in another quest for silverware: “It is a hard defeat for England to take but in some ways, it is a victory for attacking football.”
- Getty
DID YOU KNOW?
Southgate is yet to make a decision on his future, with his contract due to expire at the end of the calendar year, and told BBC Sport in the immediate aftermath of a dramatic loss to Spain in Berlin: “Now is not the time for me to speak about that. I need to talk to the right people and give myself a bit of time. To get to another final… it was a privilege to have the opportunity. But to come up short is hard at the moment.”