June 26, (THEWILL) – Ahead of Tuesday’s blockbuster clash against Germany at the ongoing continental football competition, England coach Gareth Southgate is set to be offered a new contract, which will be signed regardless of the outcome of that Euro 2020 knockout showdown.
The two perennial football rivals are due to meet in the round of 16 fixture at Wembley with the Three Lions holding the upper hand having finished at the top of Group D. For their part, Germany finished in second place in Group F, the “Group of Death”, behind France and ahead of holders Portugal.
The English squad replicated the group performance of the 1966 World Cup, where they played three matches, and of the second group stage of the 1982 World Cup, where they played two games, and advanced from the group stages without conceding a goal.
The new contract for Southgate, who replaced Sam Allardyce in November 2016, will be coming a year before the deal he signed in 2016 is due to expire, as contract talks were expected to conclude after the World Cup in Qatar next year.
Explaining why the England Football Association wants the 50-year-old to sign a new deal a year beforehand, Mark Bullingham, Chief Executive of the FA said: “Am I enjoying the football? Yes, I am. Gareth has done a brilliant job, finishing top of the group, really solid defence, and he’s done really well on and off the pitch, in every aspect.
“Our support is unwavering – 100 per cent unwavering. We are 100 per cent behind Gareth. He knows how we feel about him. We feel he is brilliant, both on and off the pitch. We want him to carry on. He’s doing a great job.
“Regardless of the group stage of the tournament we would have wanted him to carry on, not just in [this] tournament but if you look at the Nations League as well, he did brilliantly in that.
“I remember the Spain game (the 3-2 Nations League win in October 2018) – absolutely great performances.”
Bullingham added: “Gareth knows exactly how we feel about him. He knows that we think he’s doing a great job and we’d like him to carry on.
“We would love him to carry on, for sure, beyond this contract.”
On Tuesday, at 5.00pm local time, Southgate’s England will line up against Joachim Low’s Germany in the Last-16 of Euro 2020 in front of around 40,000 spectators at the Wembley stadium for a cracker that will please fans of the European competition.
It may be the game where Southgate finally unleashes the talent of Jadon Sancho to apply his German knowledge in England’s favour after taking a barrage of criticism for not playing the skillful Borussia Dortmund youngster, who may be bound for the Old Trafford grounds of Manchester United, in the group games.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
