England

Should Gareth Southgate to be sacked from his post as England manager following the Three Lions' 4-0 humbling at home to Hungary?

“The next period is going to be unpleasant and uncomfortable. In the matches where every other manager is judged we’ve had the best performances for 50 years. The irony is that the pressure we’ve had and reputational comments have come in two Nations League campaigns. We need to be at full strength to win matches. We’ve not been at full strength for the matches we’ve lost. I don’t think it’s damaging for the mentality of the group.

Southgate was greeted by boos from fans in his worst defeat as England manager, the team's first time losing by four goals in nearly six decades.

The 25-year-old doubled the scoring with 20 minutes left, becoming the first Hungary player to score twice in an away game against England since both Ferenc Puskas (two) and Nandor Hidegkuti (three) did so in a 6-3 win at Wembley in 1953. That was Hungary's last -- and only other -- victory on English soil, achieved by a team known as the "Mighty Magyars," then considered the finest in world football. He has earned the right to experiment and there should be no lasting judgement based on four games crammed in as a coda to an exhausting campaign with preseason for most a matter of a few short weeks away. He achieved his previous level of acclaim by making giant strides in rebuilding the relationship between players and supporters, navigating longstanding historic hurdles to progress further than most of his predecessors. They were passed into submission by Modric in 2018's semifinal against Croatia, saw the tide turn firmly against them as Jorginho and Marco Verratti took control for Italy in last summer Euro 2020 final and here, with almost endless possession at their disposal, they were unable to break down a well-organised but limited Hungary side. Having talked up the benefits of a full house after only 2,000 schoolchildren could attend Saturday's game against Italy due to UEFA sanctions, the abuse he received here will hurt.

Supporters have turned on the manager after humiliation against Hungary – he is now a victim of his own success.

A more genuine note of criticism is that Southgate has failed to progress and evolve the team. There is a kind of Arthurian element to this, a deep, unexpressed assumption that the condition of simply being English is at bottom irresistible. The frustration is that there are genuine flaws and missteps here, details that get lost in the wider hysteria. There have been mistakes since, most notably a failure to build a second team, to improve the attack which is still basically Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling, just older, to mask the callowness of central midfield, the weakness of the centre-halves, without sinking into all-out defence. But England can’t play like Liverpool and Kyle Walker is just a better bet for now in this team. And that, if this is not happening, then there is a problem to solve, because something is fundamentally wrong with the universe. Southgate has taken England to two semi-finals in five years, after two semi-finals in the previous half a century. It is there in the misconceptions masquerading as analysis. But this is not the interesting part, is it? And so, tossed on the familiar tides of rage, shortsightedness and good old-fashioned English exceptionalism, it becomes necessary to defend Gareth Southgate. In a way this is all quite comforting. It is the role of the manager to find solutions to these things. There is a natural lifespan to these things.

WOLVERHAMPTON, England: Hungary thrashed a dreadful England 4-0 away on Tuesday to go top of their Nations League group and perpetuate the hosts' winless ...

The result left Hungary top of Group A3 on seven points with England in fourth and bottom spot on two points. But their dismal form in the Nations League has baffled fans and saw boos ringing out as they traipsed off the Molineux pitch. Zsolt Nagy chipped Ramsdale and Daniel Gazdag drove from distance into the corner for two late goals that heaped humiliation on England playing in Wolverhampton.

Former captain Steph Houghton missed out on England's squad for Euro 2022 as coach Sarina Wiegman selected her 23 players for the tournament on home soil on ...

"The chance to represent the nation on such a big stage on home soil is one to relish. It was just a matter of time and we don't have that time," said Wiegman. "It was a hard decision.

The England manager, Sarina Wiegman, has said it was a 'hard decision' to omit Steph Houghton from her 23-player squad for Euro 2022.

She has been playing training games and is ready to compete tomorrow.” “We have the bigger picture. “It’s hard but first of all you have respect for each other and you have open, honest conversations. Houghton, who has 121 caps, has been in a race to prove her fitness after she missed much of the season. “It is hard for every player we have to disappoint,” Wiegman said. It was just a matter of time and we just don’t have that time.”

Gareth Southgate was a national hero less than a year ago as he led England to a first major tournament final for 55 years but is now in the firing line ...

We are going to need them in the World Cup and we didn't want to break them." "This has been a really unique set of fixtures," he said. "Tonight is another example of why that core of the team has been so important and why the balance of the team has to be right." "I know there will be a lot of criticism and call for change," said Southgate. "But I go back to the fact when we've had our strongest teams we've had excellent results." Captain Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling were quick to shut down any questions over Southgate's future given the credit he has in the bank for not only reaching the final of Euro 2020 but also the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup. "I tried to give some young players experiences and rest some of the players I think have had long seasons.

England suffered their worst home defeat in nearly a century as Hungary won 4-0 at Molineux.

"Let's not forget where we have come from, our first final in 60 years, a semifinals in the World Cup, compared to where we have been in the last 50 years," said Kane. Instead they can be guilty of enabling Kane's worst habits, his belief that he can write and sing the theme tune for this team as he drops into midfield in an attempt to spring teammates in behind. What chances that did come England's way were largely from set pieces, but at both ends of the field they seemed to miss the authority with which Harry Maguire deals with balls into the box. Harry Kane certainly left no room for doubt as to his view on the manager, asked about Southgate's future after the game he simply said it was "not even a question I should be answering". The answer would be no anyway; taking England to a World Cup semifinal and European Championship final ought to earn a manager sufficient trust from a nation to get past a wobble like this recent international break has brought. This loss will not be as seismic but it does throw an almighty spanner in the works with just two games to go before Southgate selects his World Cup squad.

Follow England Women vs Belgium Women across Sky Sports digital platforms with our dedicated live blog, plus updates on Sky Sports News; The 2022 Womens ...

Much of their improvement too has come under long-time manager Ives Serneels, who has coached the national team since 2011. Much like England, Belgium head into Thursday's friendly and the Euros with plenty of experience in their ranks. England had led 2-0, but needed a late Nikita Parris penalty to secure the draw in a rocky patch of form after finishing fourth at that summer's World Cup. The Lionesses will be aiming for three victories but equally and perhaps more importantly, cohesive performances. Despite a glut of goals under Wiegman so far, they have come against the likes of Latvia, North Macedonia and Luxembourg. The Lionesses also face The Netherlands at Elland Road on June 24 before travelling to Switzerland for their concluding warm-up clash on June 30.

Vicious, toxic and personal abuse was directed at Gareth Southgate. It felt everything that had been built over six years was disappearing.

But this week felt like the week that credit dried up. He was aware of this criticism before this game and spoke of how he disagreed with the “narrative” after the Germany game, when England were outplayed but scraped a 1-1 draw in the second half. It always felt as if the last few years had earned Southgate so much credit in the bank that he could afford a few bad days at the office. “You’re not going to be the England manager, it’s not realistic, to have the ride I’ve had for five years and not have bad nights, difficult nights, and criticism,” he said. He is not only a coach or a manager but a national father figure, a spokesman for the soul of the game, and (at least until this week) one of the few unifying figures in the country. You have to go back to the dark days of Steve McClaren in Andorra for anything like this. “That’s part and parcel of the job.” More worrying than the results have been the performances, not one of which has pointed to a team confidently moving towards its peak in Qatar five months from now. There is no question that the last four games have been bad for England. They have taken two points, scored one goal (a Harry Kane penalty) and not created many more chances. Certainly since the Euros final last July and maybe even since the World Cup in 2018. The underpinning of the whole Southgate era up until Tuesday night had been his relationship with the fans. Or when they booed him again when he tried to front up and applaud the crowd after the final whistle.

Former captain Steph Houghton missed out on England's squad for Euro 2022 as coach Sarina Wiegman selected her 23 players for the tournament on home soil on ...

"The chance to represent the nation on such a big stage on home soil is one to relish. Of course she was really, really disappointed." "It was a hard decision.

Sarina Wiegman has selected her 23-player England squad for this summer's home European Championship. The group was announced on Wednesday, ...

Whether she can reproduce a similar display in a major tournament is yet to be known, with the England manager using her sparingly so far. White has, however, still been in great form for her country, with 11 goals in 2021-22 for England, and becomes a different animal at major tournaments. She finished the season with 5.4 more goals than her expected goals (xG) tally, as demonstrated below, and registered eight assists in the WSL — she also carried on that brilliant domestic form for England too. Hayes said before May’s FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City that she hopes Hemp is rubbish at the weekend and amazing for England in the summer. She’s always waiting in the wings, ready to take any opportunity she’s given, and she will likely do the same for Wiegman this summer. She is the Dash’s all-time leading goalscorer in the regular season (33) and has 108 career appearances across all competitions. She was named in the 2017 Euros and 2019 World Cup squads, but has never made an appearance at a major tournament. Don’t forget that this is the player who hit that thunderbolt in the 2015 World Cup as England came from behind to beat Norway 2-1 in the last 16. Bright has been a consistent performer for Chelsea at centre-back this season, starting every league game under Emma Hayes and clocking up 1973 minutes, the most of any player at her club. Demi Stokes and Nikita Parris are the longest-serving non-white players who have featured for England in the last three major tournaments. Instead, City’s inclusion in the Women’s Super League restructure and expansion led to them having the most England internationals for the last four competitions. The England manager has opted for a blend of youth and experience.

'You've got to have the balance of a team right,' the manager said as he reflected on England's 4-0 Nations League defeat by Hungary at Molineux.

“I know how it works,” Southgate said. “I think some of the desire to see open play … we saw [against Hungary] that you’ve got to have the balance of a team right,” Southgate said. “Without a doubt,” he said. Southgate must consider a period of introspection and pain. The worries were numerous on Tuesday night, one of the biggest being how the players failed to cope in front of an impatient crowd. “Now you think: ‘God, wish we had done [it].’ But actually that would have been selfish to keep pressure off me rather than do what’s right for England going to a World Cup. A theme of the get-together was Southgate’s belief in his stalwarts. It was a reminder to myself in the second half that, OK, you go for a gamble to try to win the game because you think that’s important. He knew he had to do so to avoid placing too much strain on the first choices and to understand better his backup options. I didn’t view that as a criticism of Harry. He’s actually had three really strong performances with us.” “That [the booing] was directed at me [and not Maguire],” Southgate said. But England were taken apart by a well-organised, quick-transitioning Hungary to leave them bottom of Nations League Group A3 with two points from four matches and one goal.

MELBOURNE : Australia and England will have a new winners trophy for their rugby union tests after they agreed to shelve the 25-year-old Cook Cup named ...

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England's international break couldn't have gone any worse, as they failed to pick up a win vs Hungary, Germany and Italy.

Senegal are comfortably the highest ranked African nation after their recent AFCON success, while Portugal are the first country to be listed ahead of England. Imagine the scenes if Lionel Messi‘s final World Cup ends with him lifting the trophy, eh? It’ll be a huge shock if at least 75% of these teams don’t reach the knockout rounds. Like the first eight, none of these nations are going to actually lift the trophy, barring a miracle. If any of these teams win the World Cup later this year, it’ll be the greatest footballing story ever told. However, we can see a number of them reaching the knockout stage.

England have recorded their worst home defeat since 1928 after losing 4-0 to Hungary.The huge loss to Hungary on Tuesday night at Molineux was their biggest ...

They lost 1-0 to Hungary in their opening group game on June 4 before draws with Germany and Italy over the last week. It is also Hungary's first win in England since 1953. Women who played for England over the years open up on the often shocking conditions they faced and how the game has grown

England suffered their worst home defeat for 94 years as they were stunned 4-0 at home by Hungary in their UEFA Nations League clash on Tuesday. It is the first ...

I understand the fans' frustration, we will keep working to try and have a successful World Cup." "4-0 is difficult to accept, but I think Southgate proved he is quite a good coach. It was a hapless performance that deserves all the criticism it gets, but to call for Southgate's head is remarkable, given his achievements as England manager. As bad as England were, Hungary fully earned a historic win. "Second half was not acceptable after going 2-0 down. It is the first time England have been beaten by four goals in a home game since a 5-1 loss to Scotland in 1928.

England play Hungary at Wembley Stadium in tonight's UEFA Nations League tie in Group A3. Gareth Southgate's team currently sit bottom of the group on two ...

Click here to read the full story. Click here to read the full story. In the UK, the game will be free to broadcast live on Channel 4 and All 4, with coverage starting from 7pm for the 7.45pm kick-off (BST).

The Bank of England looks set to override its worries about a sharp slowdown in the British economy and raise interest rates again on Thursday as it tries ...

"The Bank of England might do one or two more (rate hikes), but I think we will be in recession later this year in the UK." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

The Bank of England is expected to hike interest rates for the fifth consecutive monetary policy meeting on Thursday.

The data are puzzling to say the least, but given the serious recession risk facing the UK (40%) we need to keep an eye on such trends in coming months." However, some economists are beginning to spot signs of weakness that could deter the central bank from persisting with aggressive rate hikes. That risks the economy stalling, or worse, going into reverse," Khalaf said in a note. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak announced a package of measures late last month aimed at alleviating the cost of living crisis for households. The Bank expects inflation to rise above 10% later this year. Since then, fresh data has shown that U.K. inflation soared to a 40-year high of 9% annually in April as food and energy prices spiraled, and the country faces a major cost of living crisis.