I have no doubt that Gareth Southgate should stay as England manager to take us to the 2024 European Championship.
I know it hasn’t delivered the trophy we wanted in Qatar, but we have to look at the bigger picture.
Not only about how we have played in this tournament but also the progress we have made during his six years in charge.
When Southgate took over in 2016, we were a shambles and it felt like we were going nowhere. We were laughed at at the Euros earlier this year under Roy Hodgson and then suffered the embarrassment of Sam Allardyce’s exit when it seemed things couldn’t get any worse.
Compare that to where we are now, after the amazing experiences we’ve had with Southgate in three major tournaments, and maybe that’s why losing to France hurts so much.
We thought we could win this World Cup because of what we have done under his leadership in the past and what we showed in this tournament. We were serious contenders for many reasons and Southgate was behind them all.
After reaching the semi-finals four years ago in Russia and the final of Euro 2020, going out in the quarter-finals seems like a step backwards but we are definitely going in the right direction with it.
We are now the better team in either of those two tournaments, although we haven’t gone as far this time – and there’s more to come from these players.
‘Players seem to like and respect Southgate’
It will be at Southgate alone whether he stays or not. Nobody in the Football Association will tell him he has to go, which I think is only right.
No England manager has taken a team to more than three major finals since Sir Alf Ramsey [four between 1966 and 1972], and Gareth is understandably considering his future before contemplating another campaign. Want some time to do it.
But I really hope he decides to move on at the next tournament, and hopefully he feels he has left unfinished business with this exciting young England team.
They all seem to like and respect him, and even seem to enjoy playing for him because of the atmosphere he creates in their squad.
He’s done the best of them in Qatar, but he’ll feel he could have gone further and I think that will help him at the next Euros in Germany – a chance to put that right. Only 18 months away.
We begin our journey to these finals with our first qualifier against Italy in March, in a repeat of last year’s final. We have to get with the players who have played so well here, and Gareth is still their leader.
Some of his tactical decisions in big games have been criticized before, but I don’t think he could or should have done anything differently in our defeat to France.
My only disappointment is that their winning goal came from a cross, which I mentioned in my last column is a big part of their game.
I thought France’s approach might suit our centre-halves and full-backs, who deal with this type of delivery every week, but in the end the game was decided that way, with wily old foxes like Olivier Giroud. Got a yard space. the box
‘You can hold your head high when you give it your all’
On the plus side, we went toe-to-toe with the holders and favorites to win this World Cup, played well and created many chances. It just wasn’t meant to be.
We lost, but we gave everything and when that happens you can hold your head high.
I felt the same way when my England team lost to Germany at Euro 96 and then Argentina at the World Cup in France two years later. We also worked very hard and played pulsating matches which were intense contests which were decided by excellent margins.
After both defeats I came away thinking ‘we could have won it’ and feeling all the pain from such narrow defeats – although, when I thought back to my performance I was proud and positive. There were reasons.
So I know how much this defeat must be hurting the England players at the moment, especially after Harry Kane’s late penalty miss.
I feel for Harry, but that’s the life of a top striker. You always have to put yourself forward for such a big moment. You can’t score on every chance you have, but some chances are bigger and mean more than others, so that one hurts like hell.
It will probably haunt him for the rest of his life, but there is nothing he can do about it.
The biggest penalty I ever missed for Newcastle against Sunderland in 2000 – and I still think about it.
It was to take the World Cup.
Rather than think about England winning this World Cup, what we have, but I believe when I look at the teams left in the tournament we had a real chance, because it was really there for the taking. .
Croatia have won just one game in open play so far and not much has happened in front of them. Argentina are not a great team either, although they have Lionel Messi which always gives them a chance.
Morocco, who England face in the semi-finals, are well organized and dangerous on the counter-attack but I would have backed us to beat them.
Instead, we’re going home, but I’m sure the youngsters in our team can use that experience to help us next time we reach this stage.
Many of them had memorable moments to take away from the tournament, but it was Jude Bellingham who stood out for me as our best player.
Bellingham is only 19 years old but his performances from the start were so mature and showed that he is not afraid of anyone or anything.
He is one of the reasons why the future is so bright for England. This World Cup went down as a missed opportunity, but we’ll go into the next Euros as one of the favourites, I’m sure of that.
