Nfter the worst home defeat for the English national football team in more than 90 years, coach Gareth Southgate has been the center of criticism. In contrast to many fans and some experts, captain Harry Kane didn’t want to know anything about Southgate’s dismissal after Tuesday night’s 4-0 loss to Hungary. “I shouldn’t even be answering that question, to be honest,” Kane said on British television. “This is our first major defeat in a long time. (…) Of course that was a night to forget, but we have to take it and move on,” said the Tottenham Hotspur attacker.
Many of the crowd in Wolverhampton expressed their frustration with boos and whistles and chants at Southgate, accusing him of having no idea what he was doing. The first experts also questioned the future of the coach, who had led England to the final against Italy at the European Championships in their own country last summer and before that to the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup.
Former international Gary Lineker limited himself on Twitter to wishing for a playing style like that of Liverpool FC. After just one goal in four Nations League games without a win over the past two weeks, former Liverpool pro Stephen Warnock told BBC radio: “I’m not sure he’s the right man. There are other candidates who are better suited – and I’m sure Gareth Southgate is under pressure tonight.”
The heaviest home defeat since a 5-1 loss to Scotland in 1928 caused great uncertainty in England. “We haven’t lost many football games and when you lose that hard, especially at home, it becomes very painful in England,” Southgate said. “Of course a night like this is difficult and it’s important that I take that off her shoulders because it was absolutely up to me.”
Not the team, he himself decided on the numerous changes and the tactical orientation of the team. “The responsibility for this lies with me. It was difficult to send out the strongest team in every game, so we used it to prepare for Qatar,” he said. “I have sympathy because I chose teams specifically for the two games against Hungary where I tried to balance the team and give young players an opportunity. I didn’t get that balance to deliver at a level that was necessary to win those games.”
Southgate’s team remains bottom of the table, which would ultimately mean relegation to the B division. The surprisingly strong Hungarians, on the other hand, lead the group ahead of Germany and Italy after four matchdays.
