Punditry trio Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher were all in agreement over one thing about England’s Euro 2024 campaign in Germany next summer.
England punched their ticket to UEFA’s tournament with an impressive Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, with the Three Lions topping Group C with 20 points.
The Three Lions finished six points clear of defending European champions Italy, who defeated England on penalties in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley.
The Euro 2024 draw took place earlier this month and Gareth Southgate’s England side landed themselves in Group C alongside Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia.
Southgate, who signed a contract extension with England in 2021, is now under immense pressure to lead the Three Lions to a successful Euro 2024 campaign.
The 53-year-old England boss came within touching distance of major silverware at Euro 2020, only to fall short at the final hurdle against Italy.
Southgate also led England to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Wright, Keane and Carragher’s stance on England and Euro 2024
Speaking on The Overlap, Wright, Keane, Carragher and fellow pundit Gary Neville discussed England’s Euro 2024 campaign ahead of the tournament.
Neville and Keane both agreed on who they thought would win Euro 2024, while Wright and Carragher agreed on the same pick in their predictions.
When Neville asked the trio if Euro 2024 would be Southgate’s last tournament as England manager, Keane, Carragher and Wright all agreed with his question.
Responding to Neville, Carragher said on the Stick to Football show: “Because I think… I think some of the criticism Gareth gets, just from sort of the man on the street and all of the people I speak to, I think is so over the top.
“I actually [do] not argue for him. He’s got this reputation sort of being really negative, but when you actually look at the stats, how many goals England score, the players that we’ve got, I think it’s a little bit harsh.
“But I do think if we don’t go really close as in, if we go to a final and we were unlucky or we got a bad refereeing decision in the semi-final and everyone felt it was unjust, well, people would say, well, okay.
“I think if we don’t win it and people think he hasn’t made the right substitution at the right time or picked the right team, I think people will say this team is good enough to win a tournament, so we need a manager who can take us.
“I just think the swell of the opinion will be really against him, which I don’t think is exactly right, but I think it will be.”
Southgate’s ‘last dance’ with England at Euro 2024?
Southgate is out of contract with England in 2024 and the Euro 2024 campaign with the Three Lions could well and truly be the deciding factor for his future.
If England are able to lift their first major piece of silverware since the 1966 World Cup, then the FA will do everything in its power to keep hold of Southgate.
The 2026 World Cup is a big testing point for this current England side thanks to the stacked talent it holds, which includes in-form Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham.
Southgate will be optimistic about Euro 2024 considering the stunning run of form from Bellingham and Harry Maguire undergoing a career resurgence at United.
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