England manager Southgate to stay on until Euro 2024

(Reuters) -England manager Gareth Southgate has decided to stay on and lead the campaign for the 2024 European Championship, the Football Association (FA) said on Sunday.

The popular 52-year-old led England to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar, where they were knocked out by France, and had said he was “conflicted” about his role and giving it some thought.

“We are delighted to confirm that Gareth Southgate is continuing as England Manager, and will lead our Euro 2024 campaign,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said in a statement.

“Gareth and (assistant manager) Steve Holland have always had our full support, and our planning for the Euros starts now.”

Southgate, who also led England to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the final of the delayed Euro 2020 tournament last year, signed a new contract through to the end of 2024 in November last year.

England were relegated to the second tier of the Nations League earlier this year following a six-match winless run and five games without a goal from open play.

Some adverse fan reaction then had upset Southgate and his players, though they were widely praised for their World Cup campaign, performing impressively and losing narrowly 2-1 to France with a missed penalty by captain Harry Kane.

Reuters