Southgate's blind loyalty to Kane proved England's undoing - ESPN

BERLIN — Berlin may signal the end of a long and winding road for Gareth Southgate as England manager, but he never quite reached his final destination because he made the same wrong turns at each key junction.

Harsh? Maybe, but Sunday's 2-1 defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in the German capital's Olympiastadion was just like the loss against Italy in London in the Euro 2020 final, and the World Cup semifinal defeat against Croatia in Moscow two years earlier.

When Southgate needed to act, when his tactical acumen was tested to the full, he waited too long. Moscow, London, Berlin. Same story each time.

After eight years in charge — a period during which Southgate has unquestionably transformed the England team — the Three Lions are still searching for that first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup, and England remain world football's great under-achievers.

Each time England have gone close to ending their barren run under Southgate, despite the talent at his disposal, the 53-year-old has been unable to make the telling contribution from the bench that the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel have made in big finals in the club game.

And in Berlin, while he made the bold and correct call to substitute captain Harry Kane after an ineffective hour, the truth is that the Bayern Munich forward should not have started in the first place.

Kane's performances at Euro 2024 were well below his best. The 30-year-old ended the season with a back injury at Bayern and it impacted him so much that his contribution to the national team had a negative effect at the tournament — his movement was so limited and, when he dropped deep in search of the ball, there was nobody left up front as a focal point.

«Physicall