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Top 5 mistakes Gareth Southgate made as England’s boss

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We are here to talk about the Top 5 mistakes Gareth Southgate made as England’s manager throughout the European Championship. 

Gareth Southgate is the man to blame in England for last night’s European Championship elimination but we need to talk about specifics. Anybody who truly analyzed the entire championship can tell that the players are not to blame for this defeat. In fact, they actually saved Southgate several times after he made some questionable choices. It has been reported that he expects to keep coaching this squad for the 2022 World Cup but he will need to correct these mistakes. We give you the Top 5 he made throughout the tournament. 

5.- He risked Bukayo Saka too much. 

Out of all the outrageous talents England has, perhaps Bukayo Saka is the one with the least experience at the highest level. Gareth Southgate decided to give this Arsenal youngster too much to handle at the most important moments. Even though we believe he is extremely talented, there is a process that Southgate decided not to follow with him. Unlike other young players in the squad, Saka should’ve gotten less minutes compared to other players like Sancho or Rashford. 

4.- An unclear idea of who could accompany Kane and Sterling. 

We know that Kane and Sterling were the only attacking players with a secured spot within the starting eleven. Southgate truly struggled to pick the proper partners to accompany both players during the entire European Championship. This inability to make decisions confused some of the players within the squad. In some cases, it also took their self confidence as they came to the tournament with a great level of performance. 

3.- Making substitutions too late in many matches. 

There’s an obvious moment where Rashford and Sancho came in to only take a penalty shot that both of them missed. But throughout the tournament, Southgate was too conservative when he neede to pick the ideal players to get on the pitch. Having so many great offensive players should always give the manager enough confidence to experiment with what he has. Gareth failed miserably in this and the results are obvious. 

2.- Not using Phil Foden. 

Even though he did play for a few minutes throughout the tournament, Phil Foden stepped up with Manchester City this season. His breakthrough year was more than enough for any other England manager to decide on offering him a starring role. But Southgate’s traditional point of view prevented the lad from showing what he was truly capable of doing. Pep Guardiola will need to work with Foden’s confidence again for the upcoming season because Southgate stepped on it. 

1.- Failing to give Jack Grealish a leading role. 

Almost the entire English population knows how valuable Jack Grealish is for the Three Lions. But Gareth Southgate simply doesn’t seem to care. Despite showing his worth in some very important matches early in the tournament, Jack still remained on the bench for most of the summer. Southgate seems to think the Aston Villa captain lacked the skill to start all matches but he might’ve missed his entire Premier League campaign. Hopefully, Southgate can see reason if he keeps his job. And if he doesn’t, the new manager who comes needs to show Grealish the love and respect he earned through hard work.

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