England manager Southgate to stay on until Euro 2024

England manager Gareth Southgate has decided to stay on and lead the campaign for the 2024 European Championship, the Football Association (FA) said on Sunday.

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The popular 52-year-old led England to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar, where they were knocked out by France, and had said he was “conflicted” about his role and giving it some thought.

He had signed a new contract through to the end of 2024 in November last year.

“We are delighted to confirm that Gareth Southgate is continuing as England manager, and will lead our Euro 2024 campaign,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said in a statement.

“Gareth and (assistant manager) Steve Holland have always had our full support, and our planning for the Euros starts now.”

Southgate, who previously coached England’s under-21s, was appointed manager in 2016 after Sam Allardyce’s sacking.

His tenure began during a difficult period for England, coming in the aftermath of their shock Euro 2016 exit at the hands of Iceland.

Over the course of the next two years, the former England international was able to engineer a turnaround in fortunes for the team, leading them to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals before their run to the final of the Euro 2020 tournament last year.

However, the last few months have been less successful for Southgate, with England being relegated to the second tier of the Nations League earlier this year following a six-match winless run and five games without a goal from open play.

Some adverse fan reaction then had upset him and his players, though they were widely praised for their World Cup campaign, performing impressively and losing narrowly 2-1 to France with a missed penalty by captain Harry Kane.

– Reuters