“One more time.” Gareth Southgate shouted those words after England’s semi-final victory at Euro 2024. But the final stage is still the hardest. After losing to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, it’s reasonable to ask whether he can handle it.
England came undeniably close in Berlin, with Mikel Oyarzabal netting the winner in the 86th minute. But was it a story of bad luck? Given their relative path to the final and their performance there, it would be harder to argue that Southgate's side deserved the title.
Spain had 16 shots to England's nine and had 65.1% possession in a game where they led for most of the second half and never trailed. Southgate's team had their moments – there have been plenty of them this summer – but they were completely out of control.
Spain's Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winning goal in the second half of the Euro 2024 final.
Southgate's reign in perspective
Some may lack sympathy. But history will be kinder to Southgate’s time than the headlines or the conversations we have at home, in the pub or in the office over the next few days. When you take a step back, he has done much more than his predecessors.
A memorable run to the World Cup semi-finals. The first European Championship final where England were separated from glory solely by a penalty shootout. The first major final played on foreign soil. As many knockout stage wins as all previous managers combined.
The quarter-finals are as far as Sven-Göran Eriksson has gone with his Golden Generation and farther than Fabio Capello has ever achieved. Sir Bobby Robson and Graham Taylor failed to make it to the knockout stages. Roy Hodgson was humiliated when he did.
This was the world Southgate inherited. He was the man of the house in 2016, a safe pair of hands after Sam Allardyce was seen as having embarrassed the bosses. They expected the ship to be steady, but instead Southgate set England on a new course.
His cultural reset achieved the impossible. For a time, he made it fun to look at Britain again. Others did the same. play For England's enjoyment? It was something new. Southgate did it, re-creating the national team experience for a new generation.
It ended in disappointment again. It always does. But the Southgate era was also about waistcoats and songs, golden boots and golden summers, Harry Maguire memes and balloon unicorns. England went to the World Cup and won on penalties.
It is worth remembering. If this is the end, it will be the closest Southgate has ever come to ending the longing for a repeat of 1966. That longing has become a national psychological drama. Is it the most successful since Sir Alf Ramsey? There is no debate.
For a more accessible video player, please use the Chrome browser.
When Cole Farmer scored the equalizer, fan parks across the country exploded.
Many supporters may think that it doesn't matter that Southgate said that. It doesn't. When he chose the right words after his players were racially abused in Bulgaria and Hungary, it mattered. That leadership was really important.
Against Bulgaria in Sofia, Southgate's England became the first international team to suspend a football match in response to racist abuse. “I felt we sent a strong message, a positive message,” he said later. “We look after each other. We are united.”
That unity is something to be proud of and something the country should be grateful for. It was made possible in part by the emotional intelligence of the England manager. There is more to this particular job than just football tactics.
Unfortunately, there is more to it than just the politician’s acumen. On the eve of the Euro 2024 final, a journalist in Berlin praised the manager, saying that if the team played as well as he said it would be fine. But Southgate is responsible for both.
His biggest weakness cost him.
He has undoubtedly mastered the many unique challenges of an international career, but unlike many in the role, he has always found the period between the first and last whistle to be the most difficult.
Gary Neville rightly points out that Southgate is a veteran of the tournament, someone who has seen a variety of scenarios unfold on the most spectacular stages. When individual matches have their own Wikipedia pages, they are scrutinised.
In that context, it is remarkable what Southgate has achieved after eight years of playing experience as a manager at Middlesbrough, where he was sacked almost 15 years ago. Such is international football.
The Swiss game brought him his century in England. For comparison, Erik Ten Hag passed that mark in his second season at Manchester United. At just 38, Russell Martin has probably managed more senior games. overall Before the year ends.
It may help explain why in-game management can sometimes be a struggle. Southgate is a hard worker, considering his pairings with the diligence of a Ryder Cup captain and studying course history for clues.
He commissioned a report on how to win past tournaments. One of the most important takeaways from that report was the importance of defensive solidity, and what Didier Deschamps did for France was seen as a template for success in international football.
Of course, the limitation is that this shows how to win the last tournament, not the next. Analyzing the historical value of clean sheets has its merits, but it is not the same as coming up with your own unique vision. Sweat rather than inspiration?
It is a special skill to smell in real time while the clock is ticking. Whether it is instinct or experience, it was lacking at some crucial moments. The similarities between the two biggest games, the 2018 match against Croatia and the 2021 final against Italy, are undeniable.
Every time, the early goal you dream of. Every time, the failure to take advantage. The listlessness on the touchline, the waiting for the equaliser to come through before trying to change things. And then, the inability to change the course of the game.
Another final test failure in Germany
Euro 2024 was a little different, with Southgate's substitutes Ollie Watkins and Cole Palmer scoring in both the semi-final and final. Unfortunately, it only added to the feeling that he had realised the squad was not the formula.
Tactically, Southgate has had a plan that works in Russia, and his switch to a back three has proven a masterstroke. At Euro 2020, he has had the confidence to switch between systems, using a back four in the group stage and then using it to beat Germany in the last 16.
At Euro 2024, all the individual talents were available, but the big idea never really came to fruition. The fitness levels of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham were somewhat overshadowed, a problem he could not solve. Southgate could not find synergy.
Despite this, he maintained the support of the players throughout, which shows unity. Declan Rice spoke for most of the camp when he said the England players would do anything to protect their manager. Phil Foden declared: “I feel bad for Gareth.”
Their frustration with outside forces never got through to the coach. It may be decades before a book comes out exposing everything. But the thinking goes on. Southgate had a winning squad, but he never fully realised its potential.
For a more accessible video player, please use the Chrome browser.
Aaron McLean reacted to Spain's continued refusal to let England off the hook.
If these players are so high quality – and most of them have trophies that suggest they are, individually and collectively – why can't they do it? If these players work so hard and stick together as a group, why is it so often a struggle?
Watching England players chase the ball in vain and then revert back to their original form, it was all too tempting to conclude that they couldn't compete with teams like Spain in possession. But why is that? Should we just accept this deficit?
In the final, it was the opposition who lost their Player of the Tournament at half-time. 25-year-old Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad), making his ninth international appearance, dominated the game and completed more passes than any other England player in the second half.
It's a familiar failing for the national team, but it's harder to explain now that half of the starting outfield players play club football for Pep Guardiola or Mikel Arteta – and that's before you even consider the superstars at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Yet, there are still those images of goalkeepers clearing the ball wide immediately after kick-off, of them awkwardly attempting passes from behind, and of them panting for air when the final whistle blows, exhausted from running around on the big stage once again.
These limitations are now part of the Southgate story. But only part of it. Management is in the details. But Southgate will be remembered for his frustration at getting the little things wrong, but also his love of the big things he did right.
England will hope that the next manager – whenever that may be – will be better in some ways, but will know that he will be worse in others. Ultimately, Southgate was inadequate. But did he waste this generation's talent? It's equally easy to argue that he helped create it.
