After the final of the European Football Championship: England coach Southgate announces his resignation

After the final of the European Football Championship: England coach Southgate announces his resignation

After losing the European Championship final against Spain, Gareth Southgate is resigning from his position. The job as national coach was “the honour of his life”, the coach said.

England’s national coach Gareth Southgate has announced his resignation two days after losing the European Championship final against Spain (1:2). “As a proud Englishman, it has been the honour of my life to play for and coach England. It has meant everything to me and I have given it my all,” said Southgate in a statement from the English Football Association on Tuesday. “But it is time for a change and a new chapter. Sunday’s final in Berlin against Spain was my last game as England coach.”

Second place will extend the title drought that has been troubling English football from 58 to at least 60 years. Southgate’s contract ran until the end of the year, but the coach was sometimes harshly criticized during the tournament. Immediately after the final in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on Sunday, he had not yet given any indication of his personal future. Before the game against Spain and regardless of the outcome of the final, the English Football Association (FA) had signaled that it wanted to continue working with the former defender until the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Southgate, who has been in office since September 2016, has an extremely successful tournament record. In addition to reaching the final in Germany, he also reached the European Championship final in 2021, the World Cup semi-final in 2018 and the World Cup quarter-final in 2022. Only world champion coach Alf Ramsey was more successful with the Three Lions.

Southgate had not renewed his contract before the European Championships. Public criticism of him, including from many ex-professionals, had grown in recent years – and it was not absent at this tournament either. Fans threw cups at the coach, and domestic experts and media were initially very critical. The group phase was extremely bumpy for the English, who had a number of top players. The mood only changed after the convincing 2:1 win in the semi-final against the Netherlands.

Candidates to succeed Southgate include Eddie Howe of Newcastle United, former Chelsea coach Graham Potter and former world-class player Frank Lampard. Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino has also been mentioned several times. Former international player Gary Lineker suggested Jürgen Klopp, who is taking a break from coaching after nine years at Liverpool FC, is also considering the role.

Source: Stern

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