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Gareth Southgate ‘will sit down with the FA in early January for a detailed World Cup briefing’ to decide his future in England… and bosses hope a relaxed Christmas with the family will convince him to continue
The Football Association “will meet Gareth Southgate in January” to see if the England manager wants to continue in his role.
A “full report” of England’s run to the World Cup quarter-finals will be held with the FA in the hope that a relaxing Christmas and New Year with the family will convince Southgate to continue.
Southgate, 52, has been in the job since 2016 and is under contract until Euro 2024, but is considering his future after England’s heartbreaking departure to France.
Gareth Southgate will meet FA bosses in early January for a “World Cup report” and decide whether to stay in his job.
Southgate comforts Harry Kane after his agonizing missed penalty against France last weekend
The weather report that the FA plan to meet Southgate in early January and hope his ‘energy’ levels are replenished enough to continue as England boss.
As Sportsmail reported, the FA will need a fairly quick response from Southgate with the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign due to kick off at the end of March.
The Three Lions face a tricky Italian opener in Naples and then play Ukraine at home, and any successor to Southgate ideally needs to be in place by then.
After England’s defeat to France last Saturday, in which Harry Kane missed a late penalty, Southgate said he would take time to consider his future at work.
The FA will ask England boss Gareth Southgate to make a quick decision on his future
The World Cup in Qatar was the third major tournament Southgate has led England in, after reaching the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the Euro 2020 final.
Although losing to France in the quarter-finals represents a regression from the last two tournaments, the way England performed offered encouragement.
However, the manner of defeat will no doubt be emotionally draining for Southgate and their players.
Some English fans had turned against Southgate after poor performances in their UEFA Nations League campaign this year, which led to the embarrassment of relegation from the top tier of the competition and winless in six games.
England lost 2-1 to France in last Saturday’s quarter-final after performing well in the game.
However, the World Cup performances have restored pride as England prepare to embark on another cycle of tournaments with home and away qualifiers next year against Italy, Ukraine, Malta and North Macedonia.
Southgate waited four months to recommit after their Euro 2020 final loss to Italy last year and signed a two-year contract extension last November.
But time will be of the essence this time with Southgate mindful not to leave the FA in the lurch just two months before the start of European Championship qualifying.
The FA has no succession plans and there is a dearth of credible English candidates, with Eddie Howe and Graham Potter (pictured) committed to Newcastle and Chelsea respectively.
The two main English candidates to replace Southgate should he resign are Graham Potter and Eddie Howe, but they are working at Chelsea and Newcastle United respectively.
The FA is open to foreign candidates with Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel two names in the draw.