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On the Ball
England are not alone in Euro 2024 angst
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Captain Harry Kane and manager Gareth Southgate have both come under fire for an underperforming England side.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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An angst-ridden Euro 2024 so far for England. Gareth Southgate, the manager who changed a nation’s outlook, is wearing a familiar, weary expression. The likes of Bobby Robson, Graham Taylor, Glenn Hoddle, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson each wore the thousand-yard stare of an England manager under major tournament pressure. Only Robson, after a disastrous Euro 88, ever got the chance to redeem himself at the following Italia 90.
Southgate is finding that his team’s previous good performances will do little to calm a nation’s worries. The bonhomie of past tournaments has dissipated now that the press pack are suspicious of his team selection. Talk that this is the last ride of a tenure that began in 2016 casts clouds, too.
