Gareth Southgate has hinted he could stay on as manager if England win Euro 2024. But for that even to be an issue, he needs his young players finally to seize the day. The England manager is contracted until just after the next European Championships finals in Germany in 2024.
Nevertheless he deliberated about leaving for several days after the agonising World Cup exit in Qatar, so it was highly expected that this would be his last hurrah. “Well that depends if we win!” he said. “Let’s just hope we’ve got that opportunity to make that decision!”
During his tenure he has regularly fielded some of the youngest teams in England’s history. But after exits in the latter stages of the three major competitions so far, Southgate warned his talented youngsters that there is no guarantee of another chance. As a result he wants them to make this one count.
“You have to be careful as a player not to assume when you’re younger that this might not be your last chance as well,” Southgate added. “Injury, form, new players coming through in your position, you can never take that for granted.
“Yes, clearly the older ones know the timescale is quite clear. But everybody else has to be mindful of that as well.” His own decision to continue in the role was vindicated on the first day of the international break
“I was enthused by the reaction of the players when they arrived this week,” Southgate said. “The way we played in Qatar and then the disappointment of losing in the quarter-final, that generates motivation in itself.
“You see their excitement at coming back together again and their enthusiasm for everything again. This is one of the greatest challenges anybody could have, trying to get England a trophy. That’s pretty straightforward.
“The hard part is that you have to wait 18 months to get to the point where you will actually be judged. As I said, we have to make sure we get the qualification right. We can’t take anything for granted.”
A win against Italy would be the first for England in the country for 62 years, and would bring up a half-century of victories up for Southgate in terms of wins overall. “To be honest I would just be delighted with three points and being top of the group,” he concluded.
“The personal thing is irrelevant really. Maybe in 10 or 15 years I will look back on that with pride. It is about the team winning and getting off to a good start in this qualifying campaign.”