Sir Geoff Hurst backed Gareth Southgate to continue in the England job following the team’s demoralising defeat to Spain, provided he can summon the energy after the disappointment of losing back-to-back European Championship finals.
Prior to Sunday’s 2-1 loss in the Euro 2024 showpiece in Berlin, the 53-year-old had indicated he would make a quick decision over his future once the side returned home, and he has previously hinted the tournament in Germany could be his last with the national team.
Southgate is the most successful England men’s coach since Sir Alf Ramsey led the side to their sole major trophy in 1966, having reached two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final in his eight years in the role.
And Hurst, whose hat-trick against West Germany in the Wembley final 58 years ago remains the country’s defining moment in international football, believes the team are in the best possible hands.
“My own view is that the FA will want him to carry on,” Hurst told the PA news agency.
“Why not, after what he’s achieved?
“But it’s a stressful job, being a manager. Look at Jurgen Klopp, managed a fantastic Premier League side, but he looked tired after all that happens at the top level. He decided enough was enough.
“The national team job can take an awful lot out of you as a person. I think if he (Southgate) feels up to it physically, then I would be 100 per cent backing him to carry on.
“Why would you want to remove somebody who’s got to two finals of a championship?”
Hurst was speaking at the home of community football club Youngs FC in Wembley, established via National Lottery funding in 2016 to help nurture the grassroots game in the area.
Since 1994 the Lottery has invested over £440million into developing football at local junior level, including £47m since England’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy three years ago, something Hurst believes is vital if the team’s recent progress is to be sustained.
“It’s where it all starts,” he said. “We’ve got a bunch of players here that could only be four or five years away from playing for England. Lamine Yamal (the 17-year-old Spain winger) was 12 during Covid (in 2020).
“In terms of developing and getting that into the top end, we’re now seeing that improving. Two Euros finals and a World Cup semi-final. This is the best bunch of young players we’ve had. It’s astonishing, these young kids.
“We’ve got youngsters now participating at the top level. It’s absolutely vital, the money that’s been invested by the National Lottery in the last few years.”
We fell short of what we wanted to achieve this summer, but this group gave everything and have done us proud.
Your support in Germany and back home has been incredible. Thank you. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/YBivqQXfJe
— England (@England) July 14, 2024
Since taking over following the dismal last-16 exit to Iceland at Euro 2016, Southgate has led England to as many tournament knock-out wins – nine – as in the team’s entire history prior, while becoming the first coach to guide the team to a final on foreign soil.
He was nevertheless subject to criticism from both the media and supporters during the run to the final in Germany and has been accused of setting the team up too defensively and of struggling to match up to opposition coaches tactically.
“It’s bitterly disappointing,” said Hurst of the defeat in Berlin. “But you can’t look at it as one game of football. You have to look at the progress of our national team in the last six years, which has been far, far, far better than we’ve seen prior to that.
“In the past there have been problems in team spirit and togetherness. We heard about players not sitting on the same table when they represent England and the north-south divide. That’s changed. Gareth Southgate has engendered a fantastic team spirit.”
:: Thanks to National Lottery players, over £440m of National Lottery funding has gone into grassroots football, giving more girls and boys the opportunities to play the game and helping community clubs across the country.
