Gareth Southgate is depicted as either the man steadily leading England ever closer to the tournament success it has craved for six decades or a manager guilty of wasting the country’s finest talent pool for a generation. This is the life of an England boss: uniting a nation every two years for a major finals, forever dividing opinion in between.
Until recently, the debate was heavily one-sided in Southgate’s favour. Since taking charge after the double debacle of England’s shambolic Euro 2016 exit to Iceland and Sam Allardyce’s 67-day reign, the team’s progress has been inexorable.
First, Southgate guided England to their first World Cup semifinal in 28 years at Russia 2018, losing first against Croatia and then in a playoff to Belgium to finish fourth. Then a third-place finish at the inaugural UEFA Nations League a year later constituted another measurable step forward in England’s evolution before their best achievement yet at Euro 2020: a first major final appearance since success at the 1966 World Cup, losing to Italy in a penalty shootout.
England may have qualified top of Group I, scoring 39 goals in 10 matches — the best goal tally of any team in Europe — yet a dreadful Nations League campaign saw them relegated from the competition’s top tier. After failing to beat Italy, Germany and Hungary either home or away, England will arrive in Qatar amid their worst run of form in competitive matches since 1958.
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A lack of invention and dynamism in those most recent matches has prompted a degree of revisionism over England’s tournament performance. Should England have kept the ball better against Croatia in that 2018 semifinal? Was Southgate too cautious throughout Euro 2020? Should England have gone for the jugular when they were 1-0 up in the final with Italy palpably wilting in a cauldron-like Wembley atmosphere?
Questions have mounted, some with a darker, personal edge as Southgate faced chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” and “you’re getting sacked in the morning” when England lost 4-0 at home to Hungary in June, an unsavoury incident not explainable as a one-off given travelling supporters booed him after September’s 1-0 defeat to Italy at San Siro.
It is a remarkable change in a sentiment towards a manager who has done so much to reinvigorate England after years of disappointment, someone whose sartorial choices once led Marks & Spencer to claim a 35% surge in waistcoat sales now facing a backlash against his most basic football decisions.
Personal letters from Southgate were left in the players’ rooms while singer Ed Sheeran performed for the players at a barbecue held at the team’s St George’s Park base during Euro 2020 as Southgate redefined the tournament experience.
And then there’s penalties. England have won just two of the nine shootouts they have been involved with; a scar on the heart of a nation. Among the alterations Southgate made, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was encouraged to jump and touch the crossbar before every penalty he faced to make the goal look smaller. Players practiced at the end of intensive sessions to recreate the “heavy legs” feel of a shootout following 120 minutes including extra time and, in general, they were encouraged to slow down the act of taking a penalty, having been shown data which suggested that England, to their detriment, were among the quickest.
Southgate learned from coaches and leaders outside of football. Some came to him for advice and one of those was Gregg Berhalter when he took charge of the USMNT four years ago.
“Initially, Gregg reached out to me after 2018,” said Southgate. “We met in London, I really enjoyed his company and we had a good discussion about coaching. He asked me a few things about how I’d approached things with the national team but you could see he was smart, he was intelligent, he had a very clear idea about how he wanted his team to play, good coaching background.
“I’ve seen the evolution of the team in that period he has been in charge. I know like all national coaches he’ll be getting some stick at home but I think that’s just the way it goes. We’ve met a few times since, although I’d have to say our conversations have dried up a bit in the last few months, understandably. But he’s a good guy and I think he’s done a really good job.”
