Gareth Southgate is leaving his future as England manager open for now after his team’s 2-1 loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.

Southgate’s contract expires in December and it’s unclear whether he might sign an extension that would cover upcoming tournaments such as the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“I don’t think now is a good time to make a decision like that. I’m going to talk to the right people,” Southgate told British broadcaster ITV after the final. “It’s just not for now.”

Southgate’s eight years in charge have seen him become the first manager of the England men’s team to reach two finals and the first to reach a final outside of England.

At the final whistle against Spain, Southgate stood alone with his hands on his hips before going to congratulate Spain’s coaches. He then walked through a crowd of joyful Spanish players and crisscrossed the field to commiserate with his players individually.

During his time in the high-pressure job, the England manager has had an
uneasy relationship with fans and the media.

Once idolised by supporters who sang of him being “the one” amid his team’s runs to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the Euro 2020 final, frustration grew over what the fans saw as his cautious, defense-first tactics.

Asked after Sunday’s final if twice having come so close to a trophy — a loss on penalties to Italy at Euro 2020 and now an 86th-minute goal in the loss to Spain — made him want to stay to get the team over the line at a future tournament, Southgate declined to go into further detail on his future.

“I totally understand the question but I need to have those conversations with important people behind the scenes, and I’m obviously not going discuss that publicly first,” he said.

Southgate said one factor in England’s loss was fatigue from pre-tournament injuries and extra time in two of the previous three games.

“At the end, the legs started to go and you start to make mistakes,” he said. “The players have pushed it until the 85th minute of the final game. They’ve been incredible, really.”