Gareth Southgate: FA tell England manager his job is safe despite Nations League results | Soccer News
The Football Association have backed Gareth Southgate after England’s disappointing Nations League results this month and have reassured the manager his position is secure.
Southgate’s side took just two points from their four Nations League matches and were beaten home and away by Hungary. The 4-0 defeat at Molineux was England’s biggest home defeat in 94 years.
England are three points behind third-placed Italy in their four-team group with just two games remaining, meaning they are in serious danger of being relegated from the Nations League top tier.
However, Southgate’s job is currently secure and he remains the manager the FA want to lead England to the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
“My personal opinion of Gareth is that he is, by the facts on the pitch, the most successful England manager we’ve had in 55 years,” said Debbie Hewitt, who took over as FA chairman in January.
“What people don’t see as much is the Gareth at camp and the culture he created.
“Certainly before Gareth was England manager, there was no pride in wearing the England shirt. There were the club rivalries that we had heard about. The players didn’t get along not.
“He changed that beyond recognition and I saw it firsthand.
“I would also say that I don’t just work in football, I work in business and I’ve worked with a lot of GMs and Gareth’s skill set – his high IQ and high EQ – would make him a GM in any sphere.
“That resilience and responsibility (are) the two qualities I admire the most. There are no bowed shoulders, he doesn’t blow, he’s resilient and that’s what you want in an England manager. .”
Hewitt said Southgate’s response to his assurances was true to form.
She added: “Gareth’s reaction, like in all that kind of conversation, is always ‘it’s my responsibility, and there’s always something to learn’.
“That’s why it’s refreshing to work with someone like that, because that openness to learning is quite remarkable and quite unusual in any field.”
England have just two games to play – Nations League games against Italy and Germany in September – before kicking off their World Cup campaign against Iran on November 21. England will also face the United States and Wales in Group B.
Southgate is currently presiding over the longest winless streak in his tenure, while the four-game winless streak is the longest England have endured for a five-game losing streak in 2014.
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Athletic’s Adam Crafton discusses some of the morning newspaper headlines following England’s 4-0 home loss to Hungary in the Nations League
However, the 51-year-old – who was appointed in September 2016 – has some credit in the bank after leading England to the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time in 28 years in 2018, as they reached their first Euro final last summer. , where they lost on penalties to Italy at Wembley.
Southgate – who coached Middlesbrough and England U21s before taking up his current role – also oversaw a third-place finish in Portugal’s first Nations League final of 2019.
Meanwhile, the FA revealed it was working on a joint strategy with other national associations to shed light on human rights abuses in Qatar ahead of the country’s hosting of the World Cup.
However, no decision has yet been made on whether the FA will contribute to a fund to provide aid to bereaved workers’ families and build a workers’ center in Qatar.
‘Southgate has the full support of the FA’
Gareth Southgate
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
“Debbie Hewitt was speaking to the media today. We had a chance to spend some time with her virtually and ask her questions as well. We could ask anything we wanted to ask and obviously there was quite a few questions about Southgate and its future, and the message from the FA chairwoman was loud and clear.
“She is 100% behind Southgate. He has her full backing and the backing of everyone at The Football Association.
“Obviously the context is that we all know what a great job Southgate has done to get England to the semi-finals of the World Cup, to get England to the final of the Euros, but over the last few weeks , the performances did not There was this terrible defeat at home against Hungary.
Debbie Hewitt said she had spoken to Southgate since the defeat to Hungary and she said in the conversation she had with him that she was very impressed that he still wanted to know more. He still wanted to evolve. That’s the kind of person he is.
“But, as far as the FA and Debbie Hewitt are concerned, Southgate is still 100 per cent the right man to lead England, and she gave plenty of details about the impressive person he has to work with.
“And also, she also talked about all the work he does off the pitch. Being England manager is not just about winning games and producing a team that plays well and that the nation is proud of. You also have to be an ambassador for the FA, you also have to be an ambassador for English football, and that’s something Gareth Southgate does exceptionally well.
“I don’t think Southgate needs to hear that the FA are 100 per cent behind him because he already knows that, but Hewitt was asked about it and she was very candid that he was. ‘a and the full support of the FA.”
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Anton Ferdinand says England’s 4-0 home defeat to Hungary is “massively damaging”, but insists fans should still have faith in Gareth Southgate.
“Southgate does it better than most”
Sky Sports football journalist Adam Bate on England’s heavy loss to Hungary earlier this month:
“I’m not at all convinced by the idea that Gareth Southgate is wasting a golden generation. Man for man, the Euro 2004 squad, for example, were superior. This group never made it as far as that This – twice. This is a testament to the culture created by Southgate.
“However, like most managers, he has weaknesses. The parallels between the 2018 World Cup semi-final loss to Croatia and the Euro 2020 final against Italy are obvious. idea that his in-game management in big moments needs to improve.
“It’s human nature to take things for granted while yearning for what’s missing. When it falls just short, the urge to opt for a master tactician is strong. The problem is that navigating the Modern international management is complicated. Southgate does it better than most.
“Of course, those Nations League results put him in the spotlight. The need to manage minutes coupled with an appetite to develop the team was on display in extraordinary fashion by Hungary. Navigating the noise will be the next test of his management.”
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