BOSS 'TO BE SIR'
Gareth Southgate on course to be knighted despite England’s heartbreaking Euro 2024 defeat
Southgate inherited a grim legacy of flops and penalties pain which have come to define England
GARETH Southgate still looked a certainty to be knighted — despite last night’s defeat.
The manager, 53, took over a demoralised team who lost to Iceland in Euro 2016 — and led the Three Lions to two Euros finals and a World Cup semi.
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Yesterday, England fan Paul Murray, 48, from Surrey, said: “Arise Sir Gareth. There’s no question he deserves it after turning English football around.”
Bookie Betfair said Southgate was a 2/1 bet to be knighted.
But the England boss was, inevitably subdued last night.
He said: “We competed until the very end of the final, but didn’t keep possession well enough. But they were the best team and deserved to win.”
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Southgate inherited a grim legacy of flops and penalties pain which have come to define England as football’s eternal nearly men.
Long-suffering fans have endured agonising near misses, bad luck and catastrophic cock-ups ever since 1966 as the Three Lions became the eternal nearly men of world football.
Southgate took England’s reins on September 27, 2016 and within two years had built a confident, young team which got to within 22 minutes of a World Cup final in Moscow.
His battling lions faltered against Croatia and lost 2-1 but went on to beat the Germans on the way to the Euro 2020 final against Italy - where the penalties hoodoo struck again.
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But the consistency and ability to “win ugly” has been the hallmark of this summer’s brilliant cup run - all the way to last night’s first ever foreign tournament final in Berlin.
BBC in major broadcast blunder in middle of Southgate's live TV interview after England's Euro 2024 defeat to Spain
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