Gareth Southgate ‘close to the edge’ as Gary Neville drops brutal England verdict
Gareth Southgate has failed to silence the critics
A 95th-minute Jude Bellingham overhead kick and an extra-time winner from Harry Kane sent England through to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, but Gareth Southgate is one lucky, lucky man.
Supporters watched on as a resilient Slovakia battled towards a famous victory and the fact that Southgate made zero changes at half-time baffled many.
Bellingham and Kane had extremely quiet games but ultimately their quality made the difference. However, it’s fair to say that many remain unconvinced by Southgate and his tactics.
“England were woeful. They’ve been woeful now for four games,” Neville said on ITV after the final whistle.
“Slovakia were unlucky at the end. We’ve got to change something dramatically now and Gareth, look I’m happy for him… but he will realise tonight that he was so close to the edge. Very close to the edge.”
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Roy Keane attempted to put a more positive spin on the result but the atmosphere in the studio was one of worry rather than elation.
“[Nothing has been solved today], not really. But you reflect on it, at this level it’s about getting over the line and winning,” Keane said.
“If they keep getting results and going through, yes the next game is tough, but you have to give them praise. They found a way to win. The top players found two huge moments.”
“Some of the greatest satisfaction in my career was when you don’t play well and you win a game of football.”
Gary Neville: England winning Euros is ‘unrealistic’
Neville wasn’t convinced by Keane’s comments, though, and suggested the ‘structure’ in the England team is way off and they’re yet to reach the heights they did in the Euros four years ago.
“Everybody in the country has been crying out for more change after every single match,” Neville responded.
“I think the same clamour will happen again, for Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold, for other players to come into the team to create more balance and excitement.
“To think we can go through a month-long tournament playing like we are doing and get through it to the end, I think is unrealistic.
Wright was equally frustrated with England’s performance and criticised Southgate’s failure to play a system that best utilises his player’s qualities.
“You look forward to the next game but you don’t look forward to it with any real excitement. Moments [saved England], what we do need is structure of play,” Wright added.
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“What are we going to do? Bring in another individual? What are we going to say? ‘It’s his turn now?’ At some stage we going to have to find a way to beat teams and play through them.”
England will face Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Saturday and it’s obvious they’ll have to play significantly better if they want to qualify to the next round.