Southgate sack: Rice makes squad feelings clear as pundit accuses England boss of ‘ruining’ everything

Gareth Southgate faces criticism despite England’s win

Gareth Southgate has been accused of ‘destroying England’ with his tactics by a less-than-impressed pundit, while claims he could still face the sack mid-tournament have received a clear message of support from Declan Rice.

The Three Lions boss has faced criticism throughout the tournament and the fact that he failed to make any big changes for the Round of 16 clash against Slovakia didn’t help.

Southgate decided against making any substitutions at half-time despite England trailing 1-0, much to the frustration of pundits in the ITV studio.

It then took until the 95th minute for England to find an equaliser thanks to a sensational Bellingham overhead kick, before Kane finished the job in extra time.

Incredibly, Southgate defended his decision not to make any early changes in the match.

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“I had a funny feeling the game wasn’t dead and I know that sounds ridiculous. We were pushing and probing. Ultimately it is the one we have thrown in the box that got us the goal.”

On Bellingham’s sublime goal, he added: “With 15 minutes to go you wonder if he is out on his feet.

“Him and Harry Kane produce those moments and that is why you don’t makes changes when people are clamouring for more changes. We had enough attacking players on the pitch.”

Southgate told he’s ‘ruined’ the England team

Gary Neville admitted that Southgate was ‘on the edge’ of being sacked when England were trailing 1-0 and the idea that they could win the Euros is ‘unrealistic.’

TalkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara echoed Neville’s thoughts during the match, saying: “We’re going out, mate. They’ve embarrassed the tournament, the fans and ourselves.

“They’ve ruined this football team.”

However, Southgate stood firm in his post-match interview, insisting he’s still confident his team can go all the way.

On the quarter-final against Switzerland on Saturday being his 100th match in charge, he said: “That’s neither here nor there.

“We haven’t come to just get to a quarter-final, but to get through a night like tonight was fantastic character and we now play a Swiss team that have been very good.

“We have a couple of days to recover and get ready for them.”

Declan Rice backs under-fire boss

One man who was quick to defend Southgate was Declan Rice, who played the full 120 minutes against Slovakia and came close to scoring, hitting the post in normal time.

“I cannot describe the feeling representing England. European Championship round of 16 you look up at the clock and you think ‘we could be going home here’,” Rice said in a post-match interview.

“There are players saying to each other one minute to go and there is that inner fight and spirit in us.

“We have got that togetherness tonight, we would do anything to protect this manager. Keep going and keep fighting, it is an honour to be a part of it – we are going to keep going.”

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