Two days after his failure in the EURO 2024 final, Gareth Southgate has resigned as England coach. The English Football Association (FA) wants the 53-year-old strategist to continue leading the team until the 2026 World Cup. However, after four major tournaments, Southgate felt it was time to open a new chapter and gave up the role he had played for eight years.
Southgate could not end England's 58-year wait for the title, but his achievement of reaching the EURO finals twice, once in the World Cup semi-finals was the most stable time in the history of the "Three Lions".
So, what criteria will the FA aim for for for the new "captain" after parting ways with Southgate? And is that a coach who is not British nationality?
In fact, the FA does not completely object to a foreign coach leading the team. The proof is that they have appointed Sarina Wiegman - a Dutch strategist - to take on the work of the women's team.
In history, England (men's team) has been led by 2 foreign coaches. First was Swedish Sven-Goran Eriksson, from 2001 to 2006. Then there was the Italian Fabio Capello, from 2008 to 2012. Therefore, the door is still open for a foreign candidate to lead the "Three Lions" at the present time.
Mauricio Pochettino has an impressive coaching record in England, having spent five and a half years at Tottenham and a season at Chelsea. The Argentine strategist was unexpectedly sacked by The Blues in May.
Pochettino also has a close relationship with FA technical director John McDermott, starting from the time they both worked together at Spurs. According to British media, the two are still in a close relationship and Pochettino also wants to discuss it with the FA.
The Argentine built a positive culture at Tottenham and helped them reach the 2019 Champions League final. In the Premier League, the team led by Pochettino also regularly finishes in the top 4.
Culture will be an important consideration for the FA as one of Southgate's biggest successes has been making players want to play for England. It is easy to understand that the new coach of the "Three Lions" must build a relationship between the players and the national team. And of course, no one is better suited than Pochettino in this aspect.
However, the prospect of an Argentine leading the England team will be extremely complicated, especially related to many political factors. Similarly, appointing a German coach like Thomas Tuchel is also a big obstacle.
However, it should be noted that Tuchel speaks English very well (more than Pochettino) and has an impressive CV when he won the Champions League with Chelsea. In addition, Tuchel has experience leading many other big teams in Europe such as Dortmund, PSG and most recently Bayern Munich.
Neither Tuchel nor Pochettino are tied at the moment. In addition, compared to Eriksson or Capello before being appointed by the "Three Lions", both were famous and admired in England.
In addition, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are also attractive proposals for the FA. Of course, the ability to successfully convince these two talented strategists is not high for many different reasons.
