Gareth Southgate ‘Conflicted’ About England Future

England manager, Gareth Southgate, has said that he feels ‘conflicted’ about the prospect of staying on as boss of the national team. He stated that he had found much of the previous 18 months difficult and that he would need to ‘review and reflect’ before making a decision about whether to stay.

It comes at a time when England are still suffering from the crushing disappointment in their 2-1 defeat by France in the World Cup quarter-finals. While many football bookmakers had England down as one of the favourites to win the competition, Harry Kane’s agonising penalty miss has meant that the trophy remains elusive for the national team.

Southgate currently has a contract to be England’s manager until December 2024 which would take him through the next Euros. But with even Southgate appearing to have his doubts about the role, it’s anybody’s guess as to who will be leading the national side into their next major tournament.

A return to form

England’s 2022 World Cup could have been much better, but it could have also been much worse. The previous 18 months had seen Gareth Southgate’s team relegated from the Nations League tournament following a disastrous record of three draws and three defeats.

It was the shocking 0-4 home defeat by Hungary that was referenced in Southgate’s appraisal of his managerial future. The 52-year old said that the, ‘night at Wolves’ was just one of the things that were making it harder for him to figure out whether he should stay.

Such doubts should have been blown away with the majority of England’s performances at the World Cup. Apart from the goalless draw with the USA, Southgate’s team put in emphatic goalscoring displays to comprehensively beat Iran, Wales and Senegal. As such, England saw their World Cup odds getting slashed with pretty much every game they played.

Even the quarter final loss against France had its merits. Kyle Walker managed to keep Kylian Mbappe contained for much of the game, and England had France on the back foot for most of the second half. Such an improvement in form should be factored in when evaluating Southgate’s situation.

Assessing Southgate’s managerial record

One thing in Southgate’s favour is his incredible record at major tournaments. He has led England to six knockout match victories during his tenure which is the same amount that England had won in the previous 48 years.

With 11 wins, four draws and just four defeats in 19 major tournament games, Southgate has shown he can deliver the results when it matters. Plus his overall win record of 60.49% ranks him as the fourth-best of all England managers.

While Southgate has his critics who say that he is too ‘nice’ or simply got lucky with the draw, there is little doubting the fact that he has managed to unify a fragmented England team. As such, it’s not too hard to imagine England fans grabbing the latest betting promotions and backing Southgate to lead the way at the next Euros.

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