London

Putting speculations to rest, the English FA on Sunday announced that England manager Gareth Southgate will continue in the position and lead the team to Euro 2024. 

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"We are delighted to confirm that Gareth Southgate is continuing as England Manager, and will lead our Euro 2024 campaign," said FA CEO Mark Bullingham in a message posted on the official Twitter handle. 

"Gareth and Steve Holland have always had our full support, and our planning for the Euros starts now."

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Ever since England crashed out of the World Cup after going down against France in the quarterfinals, aspersions were cast over Southgate's position as the England manager.

At the time, the 52-year-old had preferred to step back and not allow emotions to cloud his judgement regarding his future as the England coach. 

"Whenever I've finished these tournaments I've needed time to make correct decisions because emotionally you go through so many different feelings and the energy that it takes through these tournaments is enormous so I want to make the right decision, whenever that is, for the team, for England, for the FA."

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Read more: â€˜I don't think we should be speaking about referees’ – Gareth Southgate after England’s WC exit

While a significant portion of the England fanbase believes that Southgate has helped the team perform admirably well at world tournaments, the other half believes that his conservative approach is not allowing England to win the trophies. 

Southgate's refusal to bring James Maddinson or Trent Alexander-Arnold, arguably, two of the most creative players in the squad against France, when the team was chasing a goal brought a lot of flak for Southgate. 

Pundits have often criticised Southgate for not maximising the creative and attacking prowess that the squad holds.  

The qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 begins in March when England face Italy in an away contest, followed by Ukraine at home. 

England managed to reach the finals of the Euro 2020 under Southgate's watch but failed to get over the final hurdle. Italy beat them on penalties in front of the home crowd at Wembley Stadium. 

Prior to that, Southgate and his men had faltered in the 2018 World Cup where they reached the semifinals before exiting the tournament. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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