That was England’s biggest home defeat in more than 90 years. Fans and analysts have already called for his resignation, but captain Harry Kane did not want to hear about it after the debacle in Wolverhampton. ,,I shouldn’t even answer a question about that,’ said the attacker, who admitted that the displayed game had not been good.
,,This was of course a night to forget quickly, but we must learn from this and move on,’ said Kane, who had left the field with his team to loud boos. The anger focused in particular on Southgate, who led his team to the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup and was only stopped by Italy in the final last year at the European Championship in his own country.
The experts, including Gary Lineker, were critical. Lineker expressed on Twitter the wish that the English national team from now on copies the playing style of Liverpool. After four games in the Nations League without a win and with only one goal, former Liverpool pro Stephen Warnock was more explicit on BBC radio: ,,I am not sure he is the right man. There are other candidates that are more suitable. I’m sure Gareth Southgate is under pressure now.”
Southgate took responsibility. ,,We haven’t lost often and when you suffer such a heavy defeat at home, it hurts. I take the blame. It was difficult to field the strongest team in every game. We mainly used this period as preparation for the World Cup in Qatar. I have tried to give young players a chance but also always find the right balance. That did not work. We didn’t reach the level needed to win these kinds of games.”
England are last in group A3, in which Hungary is the surprising leader.