England Coach Resigns After Euro 2024 Football Final Defeat

Gareth Southgate announced today that he is stepping down as head coach of the England national team, two days after the team's defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final. He has managed 102 games and almost eight years as manager. 

‘It's time for a change and a new chapter. Sunday's final in Berlin against Spain was my last game as head coach of England,’ Southgate said in a statement posted on the Football Association's website just hours after he and his team returned to England following their defeat in the Euro 2024 final.

‘It has been an honour to play for England and to lead England,’ he wrote. ‘It meant everything to me and I gave it everything I could,’ he added. 

The names of Newcastle manager Eddie Howe and two former Chelsea coaches, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino, were immediately mentioned as Southgate's successor, 53.

Southgate played over 50 matches for England as a player. He joined the national team programme in 2013. Initially, he was the manager of the country's under-21s. Three years later, he took charge of the senior team. Southgate was initially appointed on an interim basis as the FA looked for a permanent successor. However, his eight years in charge made him the longest-serving coach of the England men's national team in over 30 years. Under his leadership, England reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, the final of Euro 2020 and last week the final of Euro 2024. The English media at the time began calling for him to be knighted.