Gareth Southgate left his England future uncertain following the Three Lions’ World Cup quarter-final defeat to France.
Looking to reach the semi-finals for the third major tournament in a row, England fell behind to Aurelien Tchouameni’s first-half strike but drew level after the break as Harry Kane fired home from the penalty spot.
Olivier Giroud restored the defending champions’ lead with just over ten minutes to go, though once again the Three Lions had the chance to equalise from 12 yards as Theo Hernandez shoved Mason Mount over.
Kane could not find the target for a second time, blazing over the bar, and England were unable to conjure up any late magic to send it to extra-time as they fell to a 2-1 defeat.
Southgate has a contract through to the end of Euro 2024, but quizzed after the match on whether he would remain in charge of the national side, the 52-year-old was non-committal.
“I think whenever I finish these tournaments, I’ve needed time to make correct decisions,” said Southgate.
“Emotionally you go through so many different feelings. The energy it takes through these tournaments is enormous. I want to make the right decision, whatever that is for the team, for England, for the FA.
“I’ve got to be sure whatever decision I make is the right one. I think it’s right to take time to do that because I know in the past my feelings have fluctuated in the immediate aftermath of tournaments.”
England would have faced Morocco in the semi-finals had they made it through, after the Atlas Lions knocked out Portugal to take another European scalp.
Despite the heartbreaking manner of the defeat, Southgate saw another in his side’s performance to persuade him that they were good enough to go all the way in Qatar.
“We were here to try to win the tournament,” Southgate said.
“We had the belief that we could, and we showed in our performance tonight against the reigning champions, that we have a team that could have done that.”
