Southgate: 'England deserves a different ending'

At Al Bayt, France went ahead twice in each half thanks to Aurelien Tchouameni's long-range strike and Olivier Giroud's header. After both, England were awarded a penalty. In the first time in the 52nd minute, captain Harry Kane shot to the left corner, against the direction of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. But at the end of the second half, Kane shot over the bar, missed the equalizer and broke Wayne Rooney's all-time scoring record for England (53 goals).

However, Southgate still praised the students for their excellent performance and dedication. "The performance deserves a better result, but in the end it's the goal that decides the game," said the 52-year-old coach. "I can't ask the players to contribute more. They played too well against a top team."

Southgate also denied that England lost because of a lack of bravery and sharpness in finishing. He said: "At the key moments you are playing the top game where the chances are going to be created. In most of the key moments we were in the right position. He had a lot of shots on target. Jordan Pickford made a lot of great saves, but this was a game with good margins."

Regarding Kane, he said: "We win and lose as a team. Kane is an outstanding player, and very reliable in such situations. England would not be where it is now without it. Kane's goals.

Southgate declined to comment on the decisions of referee Wilton Sampaio and the VAR team, but admitted that the "Three Lions" had missed a great opportunity to win the World Cup for the second time after 1966. "We are here to win the championship. ", he commented. "We believe we can, and the show against the defending champions shows that we can do it."

Replacing Sam Allardyce in 2016, Southgate helped England improve gradually. They finished fourth in the 2018 World Cup, third in the Nations League 2019 and then second in Euro 2021 - the tournament was postponed for a year due to Covid-19. However, he could not help "Three Lions" enter the semi-finals of three major tournaments in a row, when he stopped in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup yesterday.

"After each tournament, we sit back and review, analyze and reflect on everything. That takes a bit of time to make sure everyone makes the right decisions," Southgate replied when asked about the game. future.

Currently, Southgate has a contract until 2024 with the FA.