But the three big problems in the team will be hard for anyone to solve without the kind of ball-playing English Rodri the country still isn’t producing What went wrong? What vital lessons can be learned? How can we make sure England don’t fail again? The postmortems after tournaments are always wearying. So many people have a panacea, an idea of the one detail that will guarantee success. If only we had a deep-lying metronome like Rodri! We’ll never win anything until we control midfield! Unleash this unprecedented generation! Cast caution to the winds! Let the players play! Release the handbrake! Be more like Italy! Be more like France! Be more like Spain! Gareth Southgate’s greatest strength was his capacity to shut out the noise. A lot of it seems to derive from a basic misunderstanding of football. Being more attacking is a fine sentiment, and perhaps it is true that England could have taken a few more risks with their passing, but the reason England lost against Spain was that after Kyle Walker’s 75th-minute throw-in back to John Stones, which led to Jordan Pickford belting it out for a goal-kick, they didn’t touch the ball in the Spain half for 13 minutes, during which time they conceded. The issue was not what they did with the ball; it was getting the ball back. Continue reading...

Former England manager appreciates the struggles young players face in getting meaningful game time As the dust settled this week on another major tournament and all its repercussions, it’s quite something to reflect that it’s now four major finals in four years for England’s men and women’s teams. But it’s no surprise or coincidence. English football has built a system which is producing world-leading players and teams we can all be very proud of. The vision to transform English football out of the doldrums came from Howard Wilkinson who has never received the credit he deserves for his Charter for Quality, a blueprint that set out an ambitious plan for a National Football Centre, academies, mini soccer and the raising of standards in children’s football. It was groundbreaking for an organisation that had previously failed to put the football in the Football Association. Continue reading...

All the news and analysis after 53-year-old’s resignationGareth Southgate: ‘It has been the honour of my life’Email Michael or tweet him @michaelbutler18 As a proud Englishman, it has been the honour of my life to play for England and to manage England. It has meant everything to me, and I have given it my all. But it’s time for change, and for a new chapter. Sunday’s final in Berlin against Spain was my final game as England manager. I joined the FA in 2011, determined to improve English football. In that time, including eight years as England men’s manager, I have been supported by some brilliant people who have my heartfelt thanks. I could not have had anyone better alongside me than Steve Holland. He is one of the most talented coaches of his generation, and has been immense. I have had the privilege of leading a large group of players in 102 games. Every one of them has been proud to wear the three lions on their shirts, and they have been a credit to their country in so many ways. The squad we took to Germany is full of exciting young talent and they can win the trophy we all dream of. I am so proud of them, and I hope we get behind the players and the team at St. George’s Park and the FA who strive every day to improve English football, and understand the power football has to drive positive change. My special thanks go to the backroom staff who have provided the players and me with unstinting support over the last eight years. Their hard work and commitment inspired me every day, and I am so grateful to them – the brilliant ‘team behind the team’. We have the best fans in the world, and their support has meant the world to me. I’m an England fan and I always will be. I look forward to watching and celebrating as the players go on to create more special memories and to connect and inspire the nation as we know they can. Thank you, England – for everything. I personally support Barney Ronay’s idea here. Continue reading...

Gareth Southgate's spell as England manager is over, so it is time to test your knowledge of the departing Three Lions boss.

With Gareth Southgate leaving his role, BBC Sport looks how other England managers have done. How would you rank them?

Reached World Cup semi-final and two Euros finalsHowe, Potter and Tuchel near the top of shortlist Gareth Southgate has announced he has stepped down as England’s manager after eight years. The Football Association had hoped he would extend his contract after he led the team to the final of Euro 2024 but Southgate has decided to seek a new challenge. “As a proud Englishman, it has been the honour of my life to play for England and to manage England,” Southgate said. “It has meant everything to me, and I have given it my all. But it’s time for change, and for a new chapter. Sunday’s final in Berlin against Spain was my final game as England manager.” Continue reading...

England midfielder is parking talk of celebratory haircuts or tattoos as he prepares to confront Spain in Berlin The question was put to Declan Rice: what memento would he choose for winning Euro 2024? Perhaps, like some of his teammates, he could get on board with the idea of a celebratory tattoo. Maybe a radical deployment of hair dye could bring something snazzier and less permanent. Instead Rice reached straight for the deadpan. “I don’t want to jinx anything because I feel like we’ve done that in the World Cup and the last Euros,” he said. “When things don’t go your way you end up thinking: ‘Why did we speak about things before they even happen?’ One more game, then we can talk about silly haircuts and tattoos.” Rice did not want to appear a killjoy or, as he put it, “be robotic”. England have been burned before. They are so close now and it owes plenty to the drive and relentless focus of a player who sets the tempo in Gareth Southgate’s engine room. “With me, what you see is what you get,” he said. There is certainly no danger of him hiding. He carries himself like a captain and speaks with the authority of someone who has watched, listened, studied and thought. Continue reading...

Manager’s arrival as FA’s head of elite development in 2011 ultimately led to the brighter outcomes of recent years There were a few eyebrows raised when Gareth Southgate was confirmed as the Football Association’s new head of elite development at the end of January 2011. He had only just turned 40 and was working as a pundit for ITV, having been sacked as Middlesbrough manager 15 months earlier. Yet even though Southgate insisted at the time that becoming England manager was not on his agenda, the significance of that moment in the history of English football is now undeniable. Initially appointed to work alongside Sir Trevor Brooking and tasked with “the key objective of bringing through better players and coaches to aid the national team” in response to the 4-1 thrashing by Germany at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the former Crystal Palace and Aston Villa defender has been the chief architect of England’s renaissance since then. Continue reading...

The latest news and buildup to the final in BerlinGet in touch! Email Emillia | Golden Boot standings “What we’re seeing here is something very, very special. How special, we will have to wait and see. To do what he is doing: I can’t quite get my head around it.” England icon Gary Lineker heaped praise on teenage superstar Lamine Yamal in his recent interview with Sid Lowe. The Barcelona youngster has featured in every match for Spain in Germany, impressing each time. Speaking of the Lionesses… Sarina Wiegman’s side took a huge step towards Euro 2025 qualification last night with a 2-1 win over Republic of Ireland. Alessia Russo and Georgia Stanway were on the scoresheet for England, with Julie-Ann Russell netting a late consolation. Continue reading...

My anxiety for the team, the black players and myself mean I hope England can win Euro 2024 final in normal time England are playing Spain on Sunday in the final of the European Championship 2024. Let that sink in. Despite all the negativity from the media and fans formost of the tournament, Gareth Southgate’s side are in a second successive Euros final. I’m delighted. But I’m also wary. Football culture is intense and often toxic. How will we react if the team wins or loses? Continue reading...

Bobby Robson and Terry Venables, both mentors to Gareth Southgate, got very different results in 1988 and 1996 For a few months early in the 21st century, Sir Bobby Robson and Terry Venables kept bumping into each other on north-east football’s social circuit. Fellow lunch and dinner guests were regaled with wonderful anecdotes as Robson, then managing Newcastle, and Venables, in co-charge of Middlesbrough, reminisced about, among many others things, their respective stints in charge of England. Continue reading...

Teenager has played with uncanny maturity and offers the sort of control on the ball that has long eluded the team Hang on, roll the tape back. Play it again. Shock as Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford left out of England squad. England players using £421 smart ring to boost Euros hopes. Fury over Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer comments on podcast. Some men throw beer cups at Gareth Southgate (and miss). Jude Bellingham in hot water over “obscene gesture”. Nineteen-year-old runs England midfield in first international tournament. Bellingham fined over “obscene gesture” but escapes ban. Southgate hits back at critics. Southgate fumes over tactical “leaks” in media. Did you spot it? Did you need another look? Like the famous viral video of the moonwalking bear, there are times when it’s easy to get lost in the noise, in the distractions, to follow the loose threads, and ignore something quite unusual happening right in your field of vision. Like Kobbie Mainoo, who in the time it took you to read this paragraph has already played three passes and slipped down the defender’s blind side to make himself available for the return. Continue reading...

Jan Oblak saved penalty from Portugal captainDiogo Costa saved all three of Slovenia’s penalties Roberto Martínez spoke at his pride of Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portugal captain displayed enormous mettle to take the first spot-kick in a penalty shootout about 15 minutes after crying having seen his extra-time effort from 12 yards saved by Jan Oblak. The Portugal manager said the 39-year-old offers a shining example of the resilience required at the elite level and insisted he was adamant Ronaldo would lead his side to victory to tee up a quarter-final against France. Ronaldo scored Portugal’s first spot-kick after Diogo Costa saved Slovenia’s opening effort, from Josip Ilicic, and the Portugal goalkeeper went on to save all three of the opposition’s penalties. Afterwards Ronaldo said “sadness at the start is joy at the end” and praised Costa. “Portugal deserved it because we had more authority,” Ronaldo said. “Slovenia spent almost the entire game defending ... it’s very difficult and the whole team is to be congratulated, especially our goalkeeper.” Continue reading...

In the cold light of day, the sense remains Gareth Southgate got away with how he used his bench against Slovakia Let’s pretend there was a strategy. Let’s pretend Gareth Southgate knew that waiting until the fourth minute of added time to bring on Ivan Toney would result in the randomness of Marc Guéhi’s header from Kyle Walker’s long throw landing in just the right spot for Jude Bellingham to score a scissor kick. Let’s pretend there was evidence of some grand managerial plan coming together as England muddled their way to a face-saving victory over Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen. There was plenty of incentive for Southgate to big up his substitutions after an unbalanced, confused team secure a quarter-final with Switzerland. Instead of facing an inquest into England exiting Euro 2024, the manager had room to talk about spirit, togetherness and desire. He could use a little diversion as he talked about giving a presentation to his players about the 1966 World Cup last month, explaining that England would not have won then without the understudies in Sir Alf Ramsey’s squad being ready to contribute when their opportunity arrived. Remember hat-trick hero Geoff Hurst coming into the team only in the quarter-final? Look over there. Is that football coming home? Continue reading...