England fans are already looking forward to Euro 2024

Ok, we know it’s disappointing that football’s not coming home. But instead of grumbling “yet again” England fans are starting to say “...yet”.

The Three Lions’s World Cup 2022 dreams came to a crushing end on Saturday night in a 2-1 defeat to reigning champions France.

But although the heartbreak is real, it is also tinged with optimism.

Supporters in Qatar continued to sing even after the final whistle sounded, and applauded inconsolable captain Harry Kane and his teammates with admiration.

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And whilst Gareth Southgate has since admitted that he’s now considering his future as manager, pundits and punters across the country have made it clear that they want him to stay and lead the team into the next major tournament: Euro 2024.

Here’s a look at what Twitter users are saying as they look back, but also, ahead:

Kane, who broke down in tears after missing a crucial penalty in the quarter-finals tie, was quick to stress his desire for Southgate to stay on.

“We love having Gareth as a manager,” he said. “We want him to stay for sure, but that’s his decision. I am sure he will go away and think about that.

“We’ve got a great team, great young players, players coming into their prime and we’ve got a Euros not too far away. As much as this hurts, we have to move on and look forward to that.”

However, the man himself has admitted he's not sure whether it’d be right for him to honour his contract, which runs until December 2024.

Southgate told a post-match press briefing: “I think 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 and I’ve got to be sure whatever the decision I take is the right one. And I think it’s right to take a bit of time to do that because I know in the past how my feelings have fluctuated in the immediate aftermath of tournaments.

Adding that there was "too much in his head to think logically" right now, he went on: “I wanted to focus totally on this tournament and to approach it in the way we have, we have given a very good account of ourselves to the rest of the world. In the end, only one team wins and we wanted to win. Tonight we have fallen short.”

Well, whatever happens, we can safely say Southgate has done England proud.

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