- The England manager is set to decide whether he will continue as head coach
- Gareth Southgate has successfully guided England to two finals as manager
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: Will Gareth Southgate’s legacy remain intact no matter what happens in the final?
Gareth Southgate will make a decision on his England future this week and could yet stay on for the World Cup in 2026, with his players urging him to sign a new contract regardless of what happens in Berlin on Sunday evening.
The 53-year-old has revealed he does not know if Sunday’s Euro 2024 final versus Spain will be his last as national team boss. His present contract expires later this year.
The Football Association want him to lead the team for the next two years at least, but Southgate says his mind is not yet made up.
‘The way my emotions have gone over the last five weeks, it would be ridiculous for me to think about anything beyond this game,’ he said. ‘We’ve got time to make decisions and I won’t need weeks, but I also think I’ve earned the right to give myself a few days to think things through.’
Declan Rice says the squad is unanimous in wanting Southgate to remain in the job. ‘The lads would love him to stay on until 2026, there is no doubt about that,’ he said.
‘The way he looks after us, how calm he is, how he is as a man-manager, how he is on the training pitch with us, he’s top. Hopefully we can do something special for him in the final.’
Southgate also hinted that he could be tempted to stay when discussing the potential longevity of his team.
‘When you look at the age profile of the squad, there are lots of parts of it that are going to be there for a long time,’ he said. ‘The World Cup in two years, the Euros at home. Without a doubt, the potential [to win] is there.
‘But we have to get this trophy to get the respect of the rest of the football world. I travelled to World Cups and European Championships watching as an observer (before becoming England manager) and on the highlights on the big screens before games we weren’t in them.
‘They only showed the finals and the big games. We had high expectations, but they didn’t match where we were performance-wise. We have now, but we have to make it happen.’
Harry Kane, meanwhile, says he would swap all of his individual honours for his first team trophy.
‘It’s no secret that I haven’t won a team trophy, and every year that goes by I’m more motivated to change that,’ the England captain said.
‘Tomorrow night gives me the chance to win one of the biggest ones. But no question, I would swap everything I’ve done in my career to have a special night tomorrow.’