"I want to make the right decision whatever it is, whether it's the right decision to continue or the right decision not to continue and I think tonight is not the right time to make that kind of decision. And the next few days either, in fact, "he had confided, a bit dejected, after the 2-1 defeat against the Blues.

Semi-finalist in Russia in 2018, finalist of the Euro against Italy, in 2021, a defeat in the quarters looked like a step back for English who are still waiting for a major title since 1966.

He had evoked 18 difficult months between the terrible night of Wembley and that, almost as cruel, of the Al-Bayt stadium, 40 km north of Doha, where a penalty sent into the Qatari sky by Harry Kane, a few minutes from the end of regulation time, had ended a rather convincing course of the English until then.

The often harsh criticism, and sometimes based, on the play of his team, during a catastrophic League of Nations, had reached the coach who wants to be consensual and unifying.

Offensive potential always intimidating

After bringing back a selection adrift when he arrived, in 2016, at 5th place in the world in the FIFA rankings, he had little left to prove.

Gareth Southgate cheers on his players during the England-Wales match, in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, on November 29 at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan. © NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP

But Southgate wants to take on the challenge of finding the "x-factor" to finish Euro 2024 in Germany.

It will obviously be necessary to pass the qualifiers that begin while many players seem at the top of their form, despite the forfeit of Marcus Rashford, sparkling with Manchester United since the return of Qatar.

With Bukayo Saka with Arsenal, Jack Grealish or Phil Foden with Manchester City, Reece James and Ben Chilwell with Chelsea or Jude Bellingham with Dortmund, not to mention Kane, in the shadow of Erling Haaland in the league, but who has already scored 21 goals in 28 games with Tottenham, the attacking potential is more intimidating than ever.

Kane is just one goal away from becoming the top scorer in Three Lions history, which he hopes to achieve against Italy on Thursday or at the latest on Sunday against Ukraine at Wembley.

The presence of Harry Maguire, substitute most of the time at Manchester United, or Eric Dier, hardly impressive with Tottenham, questions even if the two players have never disappointed in official competition with England.

That of Marc Guéhi, little seen with Crystal Palace, is more questionable, but the coach was moved, at the time of the announcement of the weakness of his pool of selectable players.

A shrinking pool of players

The proportion of players able to wear the English shirt in the Premier League was "33% on average last season, then it went below 29% and last weekend we were below 25%," Southgate said, denouncing the propensity of clubs to prefer foreign players to those from the training center.

Gareth Southgate and his star striker Harry Kane at the end of the World Cup quarter-final loss to France in Qatar on December 10, 2022 at Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. © Paul ELLIS / AFP

"Nobody can tell me that if the players are good enough, they will get their chance. It's not true. There are plenty of players who are quite good," he continued as a former coach of the Espoirs who keeps a keen eye on the English formation.

With the expansion of the Euro to 24 teams, the top two in the pool, which also includes North Macedonia and Malta, will qualify directly.

And we will have to find the words to give momentum to this group usually so successful in the playoffs.

"For the World Cup, everyone wanted to be there and the rivalry for places was huge, the appetite was there, it was obvious. Now we will have to start from the beginning," he admitted, showing confidence.

"I know exactly where our executives are in terms of this challenge: they are ready. The (Jordan) Hendersons), the Kanes, they're going to set the tone for the mentality that we're going to need," he said.

© 2023 AFP