The Football Association (FA) is hoping to tie England manager Gareth Southgate to a new long-term contract that will take him beyond Euro 2020.
Southgate and his team garnered a wave of public support with their unexpected run to the World Cup semi-finals in Russia.
It was the first time England had reached the tournament’s final four in 28 years and the FA are eager to reward that success with an extension of the former Aston Villa boss’ current deal, which has two years left to run.
However, FA chief executive Martin Glenn warned it will be difficult to compete financially should a Premier League club attempt to recruit the 47-year-old.
“I think we’d both like that, but if we talked about it at any length it would then be a contract conversation and he’s on holiday now, so we’ll talk when he comes back.
“Benchmarks are always the question and we can never compete with the Premier League in terms of pay. Everyone knows that.
“Gareth is on a journey. He loved the World Cup and he’s built his own belief that we can go further and that motivates him and [assistant manager] Steve Holland.
“One of the most powerful things he said after our [semi-final] defeat to Croatia was we haven’t done the job.”
Meanwhile, the FA has confirmed it is considering a bid to host the 2030 World Cup, having most recently missed out on this year’s edition.
The findings of a feasibility study will be assessed next year to determine whether a submission is lodged.
After wins against Tunisia and Panama saw England qualify behind Belgium in their 2018 FIFA World Cup group, Southgate’s England side beat Colombia 4–3 on penalties in the round of 16 after a 1–1 draw on 3 July 2018 to claim his nation’s first ever World Cup penalty shoot-out victory and a place in the quarter-final.
On 7 July 2018, Southgate’s England side beat Sweden in a 2–0 win in the 2018 FIFA World Cup quarter finals, with Southgate becoming the first England manager to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup since Sir Bobby Robson’s side at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.This success bought Southgate significant admiration from England fans. For the semi-final with Croatia, fans dressed up in waistcoats in tribute to Southgate’s iconic waistcoat, which he wore during England’s matches: retailer Marks & Spencer reported a 35% increase in sales of waistcoats, and the hashtag ‘WaistcoatWednesday’ trended on Twitter.
A week after the end of the tournament, Southgate tube station in Enfield, London, was renamed to “Gareth Southgate” for two days in recognition of Southgate’s achievement. Southgate was also lauded for personal qualities shown in the World Cup, including consoling an opposition player whose missed penalty had seen England win.
On 11 July 2018, Southgate’s England side suffered a 2–1 defeat to Croatia after extra time in the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Kieran Trippier opened the scoring for England with a free kick, before a goal from Ivan Perišić sent the tie into extra time. Mario Mandžukić scored the winner for Croatia in the second half of extra time.
With England trailing, the match also saw England play the final ten minutes of extra time with ten men as Trippier suffered an injury after Southgate had already made his permitted substitutions. Following a 2-0 defeat to Belgium in the third place play-off, England ended the World Cup in fourth place. Harry Kane, a striker and the England team captain, also won the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top goal-scorer