Carragher says Southgate needs Euro 2024 win to be considered England great

Jamie Carragher believes Gareth Southgate needs to win the Euro 2024 final against Spain to be considered among England’s most successful managers.

Southgate has led England to back-to-back European Championship finals, and they face Spain in Berlin on Sunday, targeting an end to their 58-year wait for an international honour.

In reaching the showpiece at this year’s tournament, England have now made more major tournament finals in four attempts under Southgate (two), than they did in their first 23 appearances at the World Cups and Euros combined (one) before his tenure.

But for much of England’s time in Germany, Southgate has come under fire for his defensive approach, though only Walter Winterbottom (383) and Alf Ramsey (224) have overseen more England goals than his 212.

Today. Berlin.

A chance for glory. pic.twitter.com/VE8Hs5ynJ9

— England (@England) July 14, 2024

England’s quarter-final win over Switzerland was his 100th game in charge, becoming the third Three Lions boss to bring up three figures, after Winterbottom (139 games between 1946 and 1962) and World Cup winner Ramsey (133 between 1963 and 1974).

The Three Lions needed penalties to get past Murat Yakin’s men, and for just the second time in their 10th shoot-out at a major tournament, England scored every single one of their penalties (5/5), also doing so against Spain at Euro 96 (4/4), a tournament that ended with Southgate missing a semi-final spot-kick versus Germany.

Southgate’s side showed further resilience in the last four as Ollie Watkins’ goal sealed a comeback win over the Netherlands, becoming the first side in European Championship history to reach the final despite trailing in both the quarter-final and semi-final.

Since his appointment in 2018, England have won 61 matches under him, drawing 24 and losing 16. His 60.4% win ratio puts him fifth among all Three Lions managers, after Sam Allardyce (100%), Fabio Capello (66.7%), Ramsey (61.1%) and Glenn Hoddle (60.7%).

Many have hailed Southgate as England’s most successful boss in recent days, but Carragher feels he must lift a trophy to be considered alongside Ramsey.

3 – Gareth Southgate will be the third manager to take charge of more than one UEFA European Championship final (excl. replays), after Helmut Schön (1972, 1976) and Berti Vogts with Germany (1992, 1996). Showpiece. #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/6VpbDLF3TH

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 14, 2024

“No more gallant losers. England must change that tired 58-year-old script and win the European Championship on Sunday night to turn a good tournament into a truly successful one,” Carragher wrote in a column for The Telegraph.

“For too long we have been the world’s biggest underachievers at major events. There has been too much credit afforded for penalty shoot-out defeats in semi-finals, or even at the last Euros when the loss could not camouflage that the Italians were there for the taking and ought to have been beaten.

“Further back, Italia 90 is viewed like it was some kind of golden era of English football, when in truth we didn’t play great for most of the tournament and lost to the first decent team we played.

“In the build-up to the Spain match, there are worrying signs that this undercurrent lingers. Not from the players, but from some elements of England’s support who are already content, no matter the outcome.

“The ‘minimum requirement’ was achieved with a semi-final place, with anything more seen as a bonus. This is the language of the plucky underdog. Spain will love it every time they hear an England fan express such a view.

“Here is another example of a lack of winning mentality. The question was asked over the past few days if Gareth Southgate is England’s most successful coach because he has led the country to two finals, including the first on foreign soil.

“Sorry, but he is not. Southgate needs to match Sir Alf Ramsey and win a trophy to be worthy of that description. Beat Spain and this conversation can be started.

“England’s display against the Dutch was a wonderful anomaly, not part of a trend. Everyone can see that and Southgate was rightly lauded for getting the big decisions 100 per cent right. That does not mean every move he made before that should be re-evaluated. Coaches, like their teams, can evolve over time.”

Fit for a final. pic.twitter.com/u2nvoxj6bv

— England (@England) July 14, 2024