England

FA 'want Gareth Southgate to stay after Euro 2024'

By Andrew Delaney, Reporter | 10 February 2024

The Football Association reportedly want Gareth Southgate to stay on as England manager following Euro 2024, despite speculation claiming it could be his final tournament in charge.

The Football Association have reportedly stated their intention to keep Gareth Southgate in charge of the England national team after Euro 2024.

Southgate has been in charge since 2016 after initially being appointed on an interim basis following Sam Allardyce's brief spell as England boss.

After taking the Three Lions to a World Cup semi-final and a European Championship final, the former defender signed an extension that will keep him in the role until December 2024.

Despite that though, there were murmurings that Southgate might have left his post following the 2022 World Cup, with a view of moving into club management.

Following England's quarter-final exit to France in Qatar, however, Southgate opted to stay on as Euro 2024 qualifying started just a few months after the tournament.

England would go on to cruise through a tricky group involving Italy, Ukraine and North Macedonia to book their spot in Germany this summer.

However, speculation is growing once more that this could be the 53-year-old's final tournament in charge of the national side.

England head coach Gareth Southgate reacts on October 17, 2023 © Reuters

The manager has not ruled out the possibility of remaining in the role until the 2026 World Cup, though, and BBC Sport claim that should Southgate wish to stay on, the FA would be happy to grant that wish and offer him another contract extension.

Unless Southgate was to step down in the immediate aftermath of the summer's European Championship, he would still be under contract until the end of the next group stage of the UEFA Nations League, where England were drawn alongside Finland, Republic of Ireland and Greece in League B2, following their relegation from League A in 2022.

Southgate is reluctant to reveal any of his plans for the future though, claiming that nothing will be decided on his future until after the end of the upcoming tournament.

Speaking at the Nations League draw on Thursday, Southgate revealed: "You've got to see how the summer goes. It's as simple as that.

"In my view, I know what we're capable of achieving in the summer, I know what my own benchmark of success would be, after that I'm not really thinking about anything else.

"In the end, we've got to deliver a performance and you've got to make the best decisions for everybody. I won't be in a position to make that decision before the tournament." Southgate added.

Along with France, the Three Lions are joint-favourites to lift the Henri Delauney trophy in Berlin come July, despite it now being 58 years since their solitary major honour.