Carragher explains why Southgate should remain England boss beyond Euro 2024

Jamie Carragher believes Gareth Southgate should take England through to the 2026 World Cup in the United States.

Southgate has been crticised for much of the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 campaign but has the fans back onside having led his side to their second European Championships final on the bounce.

‘World Cup is the one you leave after’

The manager’s current England deal expires later this year but Carragher thinks he should stay on for another two years.

Carragher told Sky Sports : “I always feel that an international manager, if the players and his FA don’t want him to leave, then it always feels strange leaving after a Euros. It feels to me that the World Cup is the one you leave after.

“If we’d gone out to Switzerland (in the quarter-finals) he would probably have walked away because there would have been a lot of criticism and the scrutiny that goes with the job, which he has done for a long time.

“But I feel if he comes out of this feeling good – which he should do now whatever happens tonight – I think it would be right to finish it at the World Cup in America.

“If I was in Gareth’s position I would be thinking, ‘Would I want to give this team to someone else and they may be go on and win a World Cup?’ If it was me I’d do a couple more years, and I hope Gareth does the same.”

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‘More than a half of good football’

Carragher feels England must be at the “top of our game” to beat Spain and win Euro 2024 in Berlin on Sunday.

England were criticised for their level of play at the start of the tournament, but Gareth Southgate’s side produced a far better performance in the 2-1 semi-final victory over the Netherlands.

“I think we’ll have to be at the top of our game,” former England defender Carragher told Sky Sports. “We’ll have to put in a performance that we haven’t seen from this team in this tournament so far.

“We were fantastic in the semi-final in the first half as we were against Serbia in the first game, but I think we’ll need more than a half of good football.

“We’ll have to defend well because at times we’ll be pushed back – and we haven’t really done that this tournament. So there will be a lot of questions asked of the goalkeeper and the back four.”