Southgate insists wrong time to discuss England future after Euro 2024 final defeat

Gareth Southgate says now is not the time to make a decision over his England future after losing the Euro 2024 final to Spain on Sunday.

La Roja took the lead through Nico Williams early in the second half before Cole Palmer came off the bench to equalise in Berlin.

However, Mikel Oyarzabal proved the hero, scoring in the 86th minute to secure a 2-1 victory and ensure England lost a second consecutive Euros final following their defeat to Italy three years prior.

Southgate, who became the first manager to lose two finals at the European Championships, will be out of contract at the end of the year but refused to discuss his plans after further heartbreak.

“I don’t think now is the good time to make a decision like that,” Southgate said to ITV. “I’ve got to talk to the right people, but it’s just not for now.

“I think England are in a really good position in terms of the experience they’ve got now with the age of the squad.

“Most of them [the players] will be around not only for the World Cup but the next Euros as well, so there’s a lot to look forward to, but at the moment, that’s not a consolation.”

Our #EURO2024 journey comes to an end at the final stage, as the #ThreeLions are beaten 2-1 by Spain. pic.twitter.com/3oUgFANkGW

— England (@England) July 14, 2024

England had come from behind to win all three of their knockout matches and conceded first for the fourth consecutive match.

However, Southgate admitted it may have been a step too far to get another comeback win against Spain, who became the first side in history to win four Euros crowns.

“I think [Spain] were the best team in the tournament, we didn’t quite keep the ball well enough, but we were right in it until the last 10 minutes,” the England manager added.

“I’m devastated for everybody really. The players have been absolutely incredible, and I’m so proud of what they’ve done, but we’ve just fallen a little bit short.

“I think the players have got to take enormous credit for getting us to the point we did, but when you get as close as that you’ve got to take those chances.

“The way they’ve fought, they represented the shirt with pride, they’ve never been beaten until the very end, the last five minutes of the game.

“The character and resilience they’ve shown. I just think tonight, we didn’t keep the ball well enough; they had more control of the game, and that’s probably the bit that made the difference.”