Gareth Southgate has said England's fitness issues at Euro 2024 cannot be hidden, with Harry Kane admitting he is not at his best in Germany.
Southgate's side have struggled with fitness issues since their Euro 2024 campaign in early June and did not look as sharp as their Spanish opponents in Sunday's final defeat.
Kane's captaincy has failed to make Bayern Munich's final appearance of the season, while La Liga player of the year Jude Bellingham has struggled in the second half of the season, with 18 of his 23 goals for the club coming before the end of the year.
The England manager, who refused to comment on the future after the game, could face criticism over whether he could have used his squad better or brought in more left-backs with Luke Shaw out with a long-term injury.
But if you say ITV Sport“There's no hiding the fact that we had some issues going into the tournament. We dealt with most of them and got Luke (Shaw) out tonight, but in the end it wasn't enough.
“To be honest, it's probably (both successes and missed opportunities). The players have to take a huge amount of credit for getting us to this point, but when you get that close, you have to take your chances.
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Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol says the FA want Gareth Southgate to stay on as England manager and will give him 'time and space' to decide on his future following England's defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
“The character they showed, the resilience, I don't think we kept the ball well tonight. They controlled the game more and that was probably the biggest difference. I thought they pressed well against Spain. When you get the ball back, you have to keep the ball.
“Defensively we were okay in the first half, we just need to keep the ball a little bit better. In the end, that's where we might be losing a little bit.”
Southgate later told a press conference: “A lot of players have come into the camp having missed the end of the season and Luke was able to play 90 minutes when he hadn't played for four months. We had Kobe as a young player and he did incredibly well, but the amount of football he's played this year… Jude, we were close to him leaving because he had cramps.
“We had a decent period and we got the equaliser, but the physicality of the tournament, the physical strain of the extra time, and not having as much possession as we did tonight, ultimately took a toll on us and I think that's one of the reasons why our legs started to hurt and we started making mistakes.
“The physical toll was obviously a problem for other people in our group as well. Of course, it's worse when you don't get the ball early in the game.
“There were a lot of situations that were against us. We had less time to recover from the previous game and there was extra time, but we have to raise our hands. Spain were better.”
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Jude Bellingham says he was heartbroken after the defeat to Spain in Berlin and believes the young England side will have to show their mettle one day.
Southgate: It's been a physically tough time for Kane
Southgate took the bold decision to substitute England's record goalscorer and captain for an hour as he hoped Ollie Watkins could replicate his heroics in Wednesday night's dramatic win over the Netherlands.
It was a disappointing end to a mixed tournament for Kane. He was one of six players to win the Golden Boot but failed to maintain his pace for long and failed to show his usually impressive all-round play in the competition.
The England striker said BBC Sport The Euros were a “tough tournament”, Southgate added.: “Physically, it was a tough period for Harry (Kane). He didn't get enough games and wasn't at the level we all wanted him to be.
“We thought Ollie's freshness would allow us to press a little more and provide a threat out of the back. I thought both players did what we wanted them to do.”
Kane himself reflected: “It was a tough tournament. I personally and the team as a whole had to show a lot of resilience.
“It's been a tough journey, but we've done very well to get here. But ultimately, we'll be judged on this game.
“We really wanted to do it for ourselves, for our fans, and for everyone who believed in us. Now it's just a huge disappointment.”
Will Southgate stay or will he leave after the disappointing performance at the Euros?
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Gareth Southgate has revealed he will speak to 'key figures behind the scenes' about his future as England manager.
Southgate has refused to comment in a TV interview about his future in England, with his contract expiring in December, despite the FA having previously strongly suggested he wants to stay in the job.
He gave more hints about his position at the press conference, saying: “I have to talk to the important people behind the scenes. I certainly won't discuss it publicly first. Without a doubt, England have some great young players.
“The young players have also gained a lot of experience in the tournament. Many of the players in this squad will be playing in two, four, six, eight years from now. We have consistently come back in important games so far. This is the last step we have not taken.”
Captain Kane, who has played in 81 of Southgate's 98 international appearances and scored 61 of his 66 goals, made his thoughts clear after the game but insisted his fate should be decided by the manager.
“We've made it clear that we love the manager but it's his decision (whether he wants to stay on),” he told ITV. “Now is not the time to talk about that.
“It's up to him. He'll go away and think about it. But we're all just hurting.”
