Tag: Gareth Southgate

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GARETH SOUTHGATE SIGNS NEW CONTRACT AS ENGLAND MANAGER TILL 2024

Gareth Southgate has signed a new contract to extend his stay as England manager.

The 51-year-old’s deal was set to expire after next year’s World Cup but he and his assistant Steve Holland have signed a two-year extension through to December 2024.

It is reward for the great strides England have made under Southgate, who later this month will celebrate five years in charge of the national team.

During that time the former Middlesbrough boss has led England to a first World Cup semi-final since 1990, a third-placed finish in the Nations League and the final of the European Championship for the first time.

“I am delighted that Steve and I have been able to extend our stay in our respective roles,” said Southgate.

“It remains an incredible privilege to lead this team. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mark (Bullingham, Football Association chief executive), John (McDermott, technical director) and the board for their support – and of course the players and support team for their hard work.

“We have a great opportunity in front of us and I know they and the fans are all excited about what this squad could achieve in future.”

Bullingham admitted over the summer that it was the FA’s intention to offer Southgate a new deal.

Southgate has been at pains to stress since this summer’s European Championship that he would not discuss the matter until qualification for the World Cup was secured.

That goal was achieved this month as England sealed top spot in Group I in emphatic fashion with a 10-0 win in San Marino, coming days after a 5-0 victory against Albania.

Southgate said after the win against San Marino: “We’ve shown over the last couple of years that we’ve got some really good strength in depth. I think that there is still a long way to go and room for improvement.

“This group have got a lot of potential and have really blended well as a team. They have formed a very strong bond and the way they have worked for each other has produced some really good performances and exceptional results, but we have got to keep evolving and improving.”

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BRENTFORD MANAGER, THOMAS FRANK BACKS IVAN TONEY TO MAKE ENGLAND SQUAD

Brentford manager Thomas Frank is “convinced” that Gareth Southgate has his eye on Ivan Toney as a potential future member of the England squad.

The 25-year-old was born in Northampton but is eligible to play for Jamaica and St Vincent through his parents’ heritage.

Southgate recalled Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins for the World Cup qualifiers against Hungary and Andorra, but Toney has two goals and two assists from the opening six Premier League matches.

“If Ivan continues to perform as he’s done so far I think he will definitely be in there,” Frank said.

“I think Gareth is already looking at him, and I would expect that.

“Gareth has done a fantastic job as England manager, the results he’s got speak for themselves, he’s a very detailed man and I am convinced that he’s looking at Ivan and then it’s that balance between who you’ve already got in the squad, different types and all that.

“But Ivan’s performance, if he continues like that, he will be a player that will be in the run for a position in the squad.”

Brentford travel to West Ham on Sunday as they look to improve on their impressive start to the season which included a draw against league leaders Liverpool.

West Ham are also going well, with three wins from six in the league, and they are leading their Europa League group.

Frank was full of praise for David Moyes, saying: “What he’s done at West Ham is fantastic. He’s taken them to the second best position, the way they play, they have solid players in all positions, they got into the top six ahead of Tottenham and Arsenal, which is remarkable.

“They just continued this year and now they have six points in the Europa League, so I think it was a remarkable job and I think he deserves so much praise.”

West Ham’s Michail Antonio is the Premier League’s joint-top scorer with five goals, plus three assists, and Frank has likened the forward to Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku.

“We faced them (West Ham) in a friendly and Antonio is such a handful, and I said ‘you’re going to score 20-plus this season’, and if he keeps avoiding injuries, 100 per cent. He is a handful, very difficult,” the Brentford boss said.

“He is a little bit like Lukaku in terms of the power and speed but also a very good finisher, so I think he is a very interesting player.”

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JACK GREALISH DEFENDS HIS AND SOUTHGATE’S PENALTY KICK DECISION

England’s Jack Grealish has hit back at claims that he didn’t want to take a penalty in his side’s Euro 2020 final loss to Italy on Sunday.

The final finished 1-1 and went to penalties, where Harry Kane, Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka stepped up to take the spot kicks, with the latter three missing theirs to hand the title to Italy.

Grealish, who was brought on as a substitute, hit back at comments from former Manchester United and Ireland player Roy Keane that he should have taken a penalty.

“I said I wanted to take one,” Grealish posted on Twitter on Monday. “The gaffer [Gareth Southgate] has made so many right decisions through this tournament and he did tonight!

“But I won’t have people say that I didn’t want to take a [penalty] when I said I will.”

Keane said teenager Saka should not have been given the task of taking England’s crucial fifth penalty.

Saka, 19, had to score to send the shootout to sudden death, but his kick was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Italian goalkeeper had also saved from Sancho after Rashford had hit the post.

Keane said more experienced players should have stepped up and taken the responsibility.

“If you’re [Raheem] Sterling or Grealish, you cannot sit there and have a young kid [Saka] go up for a penalty ahead of you,” he told ITV.

“They have a lot more experience, Sterling has won trophies, they had to get in front of the young kid and stand up.”

Roma manager Jose Mourinho echoed Keane’s comments.

“For Saka to have the destiny of a country on his shoulders, I think it is too much for a kid to have everything on his shoulders in this moment,” Mourinho told talkSPORT.

“But I do not know if I have to ask that question to Gareth or not. Because many times what happens is that players who should be there, they are not there. Players who should be there, they run away from responsibility.”

Former England defender Gary Neville said the decision on who was taking the penalties would have been made well before Sunday’s final.

“They would have worked out over the last few weeks in camp, done sessions on it, looked at who’s scoring the most and got the best record,” he said. “It would be scientific, it would be data-led.”

Former England defender Rio Ferdinand said no one could “blame and point the finger” toward the players who missed the penalties, while Alan Shearer said players should be praised for stepping up.

“For the youngsters to say, ‘Yes, I’ll go on and take a penalty’ … you have to give them credit for that,” former England skipper Shearer told the BBC. “But it will be tough for them now. Hopefully, they will get over it.”

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JOSE MOURINHO CRITICAL DECISION TO GIVE SAKA THE LAST AND CRUCIAL PENALTY KICK

Jose Mourinho has criticised Gareth Southgate’s decision to have Bukayo Saka taking England’s fifth penalty in the Euro 2020 final shoot-out.

The 19-year-old Arsenal forward’s penalty was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand Italy victory in the Wembley final and Mourinho felt more experienced England players should have been taking a spot-kick.

The Roma manager told talkSPORT: “The decision of the penalty takers, I think it is hard to leave Saka as the last one. I think it is hard for a kid to have everything on his shoulders at that moment. I just feel very sorry for him.

“In this situation where was (Raheeem) Sterling, where was (John) Stones, where was (Luke) Shaw?

“I feel that Gareth is such an honest guy. Such a protective coach of his players. I don’t think he would ever say players were not ready (to take a penalty).”

Former England full-back Stuart Pearce disagreed with Mourinho and defended Southgate’s choice of penalty takers.

“When we won the last two penalty shoot-outs before last night nobody was complaining about the process in picking the players to take them,” Pearce told talkSPORT.

“Jadon (Sancho), Marcus (Rashford) and Bukayo look like strong characters. These three boys will spring back. Our profession is tough at times but you have got to be resilient.”

Despite the heartbreak of losing the Euro 2020 final on penalties, Mourinho believes England can take confidence into next year’s World Cup in Qatar.

“I believe that if you look forward and you know that you have a World Cup coming very soon there are only reasons to be optimistic. Move to the future with great hope. A lot of these players can be even better for the experience.

“I think people have to start looking at the England national side with different eyes and, for the next World Cup, England will be a strong contender.

“But at the same time I can imagine the frustration and sadness because it was closer than ever. To lose a final at home is very, very hard.

“I think it is a missed opportunity. When you get to a final, anything less than a win is not good. When you lose a final I don’t think you ever forget that. It stays with you forever. I don’t know when they are going to sleep properly because it is hard.

“But the reality is that they did very well. They have a very young team. Gareth and Steve (Holland) together are doing a great job.”

Pearce agreed that England have much to be positive about after reaching their first major tournament final since 1966.

“We’ve gone all the way to the last game. In the end we’ve ended up being beaten by the best side in the tournament,” he said.

“I think the players knew they were so close. The only emotion I have is pride in what they have achieved. They have given the nation a massive lift. I think it is a fantastic achievement. A major step forward. We’ve beaten a decent Czech side, Croatia and the Germans on the way to the final.

“Next year I am looking at the squad of players and thinking that for a lot of players in there this experience will have done them good. Next year we can have a real tilt at the World Cup.”

Mourinho had a difficult relationship with Shaw during his spell as Manchester United manager but admitted that the full-back had enjoyed an impressive tournament.

“Because people feel I don’t like Luke Shaw I have to say amazing tournament, fantastic final, no mistakes,” he said. “For him and his career, very good Luke Shaw.”

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GARETH SOUTHGATE TAKES BLAME FOR ENGLAND POOR PENALTY SHOOTOUT

Gareth Southgate said he is to blame for England’s penalty failure in Sunday’s Euro 2020 final rather than the three players who missed in the shootout.

Italy won 3-2 on spot kicks at the end of a nerve-shredding night at Wembley that finished 1-1 after extra time. Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were all unable to convert their penalties as England’s 55-year wait for an international trophy goes on.

Southgate claimed he followed the same process that yielded shootout success against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup and in UEFA’s inaugural Nations League a year later, and he shouldered the burden of England’s seventh tournament exit on penalties, 25 years after missing as a player against Germany in the Euro ’96 semifinal.

“What they have to know is none of them are on their own,” the 50-year-old England boss said. “We win and lose as a team, and the penalty takers are my call. We’ve worked on them in training; that’s my decision. That’s not down to the players.

“Tonight, it hasn’t gone for us, but we know they were the best takers we had left on the pitch. We tried to get those players onto the pitch. We’d already had to take a couple off during the game itself. So, yeah, of course it is going to be heartbreaking for the boys, but they are not to blame for that; that’s my call as a coach.”

“That’s a process we’ve been through,” Southgate continued. “We’ve tracked what they’ve done with their clubs over a long period of time and then what they’ve shown in training, as well. That’s the process that worked for us in Russia and in the Nations League. Tonight, it hasn’t quite worked.”

Southgate revealed that Prince William visited the dressing room at the final whistle to praise the 26-man squad for their achievement this summer, reaching a first tournament final since 1966 and capturing the imagination of the country, with more than half the population expected to have watched the final on television in addition to the 65,000-strong crowd.

“At the moment, the players are understandably really quiet,” Southgate said. “The Duke [of Cambridge] has just been down to see them in the dressing room and has rightly thanked them for what they’ve done and being fulsome in his praise.

“I said we could have no recriminations. They’ve got to walk away from here with their heads held high. They’ve done more than any other team in the last 50 or so years. In terms of the players, they should be incredibly proud of what they’ve done. Those opportunities in your life are incredibly rare.”

“But credit to Italy; they’ve been outstanding during the whole tournament,” the manager added. “The way they used the ball tonight was a little bit better than us. I think they were strong enough in defence to stop us creating anything consistently on their goal.”

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EURO 2020: STERLING ON TARGET AS ENGLAND BEAT CROATIA IN GROUP C

Raheem Sterling’s first major tournament goal got England’s Euro 2020 campaign off to a winning start as Gareth Southgate’s side overcame World Cup semi-final foes Croatia.

Three years on from their heartbreaking extra-time loss at the Luzhniki, England exacted some sort of revenge by triumphing in the Group D opener at a pulsating, partially filled Wembley.

Sterling’s goal secured a 1-0 win against Croatia on a sweltering Sunday afternoon.

A smattering of jeers when players took the knee before kick-off made way for a start as lively as the socially distanced crowd at the first major men’s international tournament match on home soil since Euro 96.

England shone during the opening 20 minutes, only for Croatia to settle and take the sting out of a sharp attack that continued to underwhelm early in second half.

England had never previously won their opening game at a European Championship and, just as fans began to worry that run might continue, a moment of incision cut the visitors’ backline open.

The impressive Kalvin Phillips cut inside and smartly put through Sterling to smash home his first tournament goal.

It proved the winner at the end of a week to remember for the 26-year-old, who was made an MBE for his work for services to racial equality in sport in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Sterling continued that fight by taking the knee before kick-off alongside his team-mates, with some ignoring pleas to respect players by booing the gesture before applause and cheers drowned the minority out.