Before the 2024 UEFA European Championship has even kicked off, England supporters are already calling for the dismissal of Manager Gareth Southgate.
England’s final warm-up match against Iceland ended in defeat, casting a pall over their preparations ahead of their opening group game against Serbia on Sunday.
Southgate fielded a strong lineup featuring Stones, Rice, and Harry Kane, but they failed to deliver, with the approximately 81,000 fans at Wembley booing them at the final whistle.
Despite the tense atmosphere at the end, Southgate was not overly disheartened, knowing his team would be ready for the Serbia clash in Gelsenkirchen. He told Channel 4, “I’m confident we’ll be better than tonight when we face Serbia on Sunday. I completely understand that our performance tonight wasn’t good enough to excite the crowd. Everyone wants to put on a great show for the fans, give them something to be happy and excited about, and leave the stadium with a positive feeling, clearly we didn’t reach the level we needed.
“It was far from an ideal night, and I won’t disguise my disappointment as anything else, so we must stay calm because we will be better against Serbia. In some ways, this will focus our minds and show that any complacency or belief that just talent alone will get us this trophy isn’t enough. At this level, we have to be perfect to win every game. Iceland deserved the victory, but it will sharpen our focus, and we must do better next weekend.”