After eight years, four tournaments and two finals, Gareth Southgate announced he was stepping down as England manager on Tuesday, saying it was “time for change.”
Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Spain in the European Championship final proved to be his last game in charge of the national team.
“As a proud Englishman, it has been the honour of my life to play for England and to manage England. It has meant everything to me, and I have given it my all,” he said. “But it’s time for change, and for a new chapter.”
Southgate’s contract was due to expire this year and his announcement comes after months of uncertainty surrounding his future.
Mikel Oyarzabal’s 86th-minute winner in Berlin was a painful way to end his reign after he transformed the fortunes of England’s underperforming national team.
Hired in 2016, he led England to back-to-back finals at the Euros and to the semifinals of the World Cup in 2018.
But, ultimately, he was unable to end the nation’s decades-long wait for a first major trophy since the World Cup in 1966.
“Gareth, I want to thank you – not as the President of the FA, but as an England fan. Thank you for creating a team that stands shoulder to shoulder with the world’s finest in 2024,” Prince William said on X. “Thank you for showing humility, compassion, and true leadership under the most intense pressure and scrutiny. And thank you for being an all-round class act. You should be incredibly proud of what you’ve achieved. W.”
Southgate said before the European Championship that it would likely be his last tournament if England did not win.
During it, he faced fierce criticism for the team’s early performances and some fans threw plastic beer cups towards him at the end of the 0-0 draw with Slovenia in the group phase.
But he achieved what no other England manager has by leading his team to two finals, including the first final on foreign soil.
“Gareth has made the impossible job possible and laid strong foundations for future success. He is held in the highest regard by the players, the backroom team, by everyone at the FA and across the world of football,” said Mark Bullingham, chief executive of the English Football Association.
Before Southgate’s arrival England had won only seven knockout games at tournaments since 1966. The team won nine during his tenure.
England was also in the top five of FIFA’s rankings for six years under Southgate. Previously its longest run had been seven months.
Now thoughts will turn to finding his successor and the FA said the process was already under way.
Southgate was not an obvious choice to take over when hired after Sam Allardyce’s one-match reign came to an end after just 67 days in charge.
He didn’t have a stellar managerial career – with a three-year spell at Middlesbrough his only job in club soccer.
But he was well-respected within the FA for his work with England’s under 21 team and he exceeded all expectations with the senior job.
The World Cup semifinal in 2018 came after England had suffered the humiliation of being eliminated by Iceland at Euro 2016 and failed to advance beyond the group stage of the World Cup in 2014.
England had not advanced to a semifinal since Euro 96 and hadn’t reached that stage of a World Cup since 1990.
At the Euros in 2021, Southgate went one better by leading his team to the final, which it lost to Italy in a penalty shootout.
England was tied 1-1 with Spain in the final on Sunday before Oyarzabal’s late winner.
“We look back at Gareth’s tenure with huge pride – his contribution to the English game, including a significant role in player development, and in culture transformation has been unique. However, it is his record of winning tournament games which is most extraordinary,” Bullingham said.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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