Spain 2-1 England: Euro 2024 final – live reaction

Gareth Southgate refused to be drawn on his future as England manager.

He told ITV: “I don’t think now is a good time to make a decision like that. I’m going to talk to the right people and, yeah, it’s just not for now.

“I think England are in a really good position in terms of the experiences they’ve got now, the age of the squad. Most of this squad are going to be around not just for the World Cup but the next Euros as well. There’s a lot to look forward to but at this moment that’s not any consolation.”

Honestly, apart from it coming home, I think this might have been the second best outcome for the country of England tbh,” reckons Samuel Dodson. “It provides limitless despondent argument and debate and further nostalgic pining for the past, which is what we seem to crave deeply. Plus it gives so much weight to both sides of the Gareth Southgate debate that sprang up this year.

“On the one hand, we played terribly for most of the tournament, only actually playing really well for 60 minutes (25 against Serbia, 35 against the Netherlands). But the two claims against Southgate before this tournament were that he never reacted well to the flow of the game – and that we lost to the first good side we played against after receiving very lucky draws. Yet in this tournament, all our best moments came from Southgate decisions – to stick with Kane and Bellingham against Slovakia; to bring on Trent and Toney against Switzerland; to bring on Watkins against Holland; to bring Palmer on in the final. What’s more, in beating the Netherlands (deservedly), we actually beat a good side at a crucial moment.

“In short, nobody is totally vindicated. There are no clear answers. Everyone can claim they are right. Everyone can claim everybody else is wrong. The ideal thing for every person in England. And while football might not have come home; perhaps something more valuable and precious to us did: our ability to keep arguing, keep dreaming; and keep hoping.”