Gareth Southgate says his judgment will come in the summer even though England qualified so impressively for Euro 2024. The 3-1 win against Italy was England’s first on home soil since 1977 and the victory completed the first ‘double’ over the Azzurri for 62 years.
“We know in the end we will be judged on the tournaments, that’s been clear since we won the games in March,” Southgate said. “We’ve had some very special nights with this team, some incredible wins, top-level performances.
“We have scored a lot of goals, frankly, but we know in the end ultimately there’s only one prize in international football. Unlike club football, with how many shots clubs get at trophies each year, we are in the mix to go there and do well.”
England are guaranteed to finish top of Group C but Southgate has no desire to take his foot off the pedal in the final two games. With hosts Germany guaranteed a place among the top seeds, only the five best qualifiers will also be in Pot 1.
England are currently third behind “100-percenters” Portugal and France, but failing to take six points out of six next month from the visit of Malta to Wembley and the trip to North Macedonia could drop the Three Lions down as low as seven.
“It is not just winning the group, it’s what others do as well,” Southgate said. “You can finish first in qualifying and still end up with a tough group in the finals depending on what everyone else does. You’d rather take control of it if you can.”
The Three Lions sealed qualification for Euro 2024 thanks to a comeback victory, with Harry Kane scoring a brace and Marcus Rashford getting in on the act following Gianluca Scamacca’s opener at Wembley.
Jude Bellingham was the standout star at Wembley however, and he will be instrumental if England are to emerge victorious when the Euros come around in Germany next summer.
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