Gary Lineker has called for England to move on from Gareth Southgate after the Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain.
The Three Lions’ lengthy wait for a major men’s trophy will now reach 60 years after goals from Nico Williams and Mikel Oyarzabal condemned them to a second straight European Championship sucker punch in Berlin on Sunday night.
Substitute Cole Palmer had hauled Southgate’s side back on level terms but Oyarzabal stabbed home the dramatic winner four minutes from time.
On the latest episode of The Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker praised Southgate for transforming England but claimed he’s no longer the man for the job and called for him to be replaced by a a manager with a ‘modern, attacking style of football’.
The former striker insisted Southgate is ‘really defensive’ and called for the FA to go ‘all out’ for an ex-Premier League star as next manager.
The 63-year-old said: ‘I think he’s been the right person to bring the nation together in terms of the football team. And, now, maybe it’s time for someone else with a more modern, attacking style of football. Because I think the game’s gone away from being successful if you’re really defensive.’
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Lineker then asked co-hosts Alan Shearer and Micah Richards who should replace Southgate and then said: ‘Wouldn’t you go all out for Jurgen Klopp?’
Richards replied, ‘I’d go one bigger – Pep’, to which Lineker said, ‘I think we’d all love Pep but do you realistically think Pep?’, but Richards fired back, ‘Why not?’
On Klopp, Lineker added: ‘Klopp’s kind of been out of a job. He’ll have had a bit of a rest.’
Shearer then interrupted and asked: ‘Do you really think England would go for a German manager?’
Lineker replied: ‘He’s not really German, is he? He’s half German, isn’t he, because he’s been in England for so long.’
Richards claimed he ‘would love’ Guardiola to succeed Southgate, though he doesn’t want the Spaniard to leave Manchester City.
But Lineker said: ‘The thing is, club managers are paid an awful lot of money. I can’t see the FA stumping up that kind of cash.’
Shearer called for England to go after an Englishman, saying: ‘I’m for England and English managers. Howe would be the outstanding candidate. There’s a lot going on at Newcastle. The guys who appointed Eddie have now left.’
Lineker said: ‘He’s a front-foot manager. He’s young. He’s got a real energy to his football.’
Earlier in the episode, Lineker had pointed to Southgate’s style of play and the style of play a number of players in the squad are accustomed to at club level as the reason why England should go after a new manager.
Lineker said: ‘I think he was the right man at the right time, but I think this emergence of young, exciting forward thinking footballers that play high-pressing football for their clubs and I think that’s probably not suited him and he’s not suited them and they looked a little bit lost and they were disjointed.’
Lineker then claimed he was ‘used’ by the media to ‘drive a wedge’ after he branded England as ‘s***’ following their 1-1 draw with Denmark in the group stage.’
Harry Kane, hauled off on the hour mark after another ineffectual performance, was also a hot topic of conversation on the podcast with Lineker suggesting the Bayern Munich striker could retire from international football.
‘Part of [looking to] the future in my mind was what England do, what does Harry Kane do? He was not himself in this tournament,’ he added.
‘He’s in his 30s now, Micah. When I was 30, 31, my legs started to go.
‘I retired from international football at 32. At 31 that was happening [legs going] and it’s horrible, it’s horrible.’
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Lineker compared Euro 92 – his final major tournament – and this summer’s edition for Kane.
‘I felt [it] in that last season – which is one of the reasons I decided to retire from international football, to finish in English football, to move to Japan,’ Lineker said.
‘I could feel my legs going. I was poor in that last [major tournament, Euro 92].
‘I was made a martyr because Graham Taylor brought me off but he had every right to bring me off because I was passed my best. It happens to some people at some point.
‘Maybe he was just tired or carrying a little something that affected him and that [his legs going] might not be the case.
‘But I wonder. What is he, coming up to 31 now? That’s exactly the time when I started to feel that way.’