Gareth Southgate departs English national team, leaving a big question in his wake

Gareth Southgate has left his post as coach of the England national team, the English Football Association confirmed Tuesday.

"As a proud Englishman, it has been the honour of my life to play for England and to manage England," Southgate said in his official resignation statement. "It has meant everything to me, and I have given it my all. But it's time for a change, and for a new chapter. Sunday's final in Berlin against Spain was my final game as England manager."

England, which lost 2-1 to Spain on Sunday in the Euro 2024 final, was a disappointing side before Southgate's reign. It crashed out of the 2014 World Cup in the group stages behind Uruguay and Costa Rica and was eliminated from the 2016 Euros by Iceland in the Round of 16.

When Southgate joined as head coach after the Iceland loss, he turned the team's fortunes around in a heartbeat. He led England to the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup, the final of the 2020 Euros, the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup and the final of the 2024 Euros.

Southgate became one of the more successful coaches in England history, making twice as many final appearances as the rest of England's coaches combined.

But Southgate's reign was criticized mercilessly by English fans and media, many of whom believed that a more innovative coach would've taken the team one step further and won a major trophy.

It's true that Southgate's methods were, on balance, conservative; he preferred limiting opposition goalscoring opportunities to creating goals of his own. But Southgate's conservative tactics were the key that brought England all the way to two European finals.

For all the media and fans clamoring for innovation, England likely wouldn't have come anywhere near a trophy without Southgate's steady, pragmatic approach.

Eight years is a long time to be at the helm of a national team, and England is clearly in need of some fresh thinking. But if Southgate's biggest failure is overstaying his welcome by a year, then some of the excitement surrounding his resignation is in rather poor taste.

His results speak for themselves: England went from also-rans to genuine European title challengers under his guidance.

The big question surrounding Southgate's replacement is this: If "innovation" and "fresh thinking" are necessary to win a trophy, then what do those things look like in the context of the English national team coach?

Graham Potter, the former Brighton and Chelsea manager, is the top candidate to take over Southgate's post, but he is a remarkably similar candidate to Southgate himself.

Both began their coaching careers with lower-level Premier League clubs. Both were deemed unfit for bigger managerial jobs in the league, and both turned to the England national team as a way to rebuild their reputations.

The English national team will play its next match, a Nations League game against Ireland, on Sept. 7. It is expected to name its new coach closer to that deadline.

Potter remains the most likely selection, but Newcastle's Eddie Howe, England U-21 coach Lee Carsley and ex-Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp remain in contention.