David James has rejected claims that Gareth Southgate made a mistake by starting Harry Kane in the Euro 2024 final and insists he wanted the England manager to continue despite further disappointment at the tournament.
England became the first nation to suffer back-to-back defeats in the Euro 2019 finals when they were beaten 2-1 by Spain in Berlin on Sunday.
It was another tough night for Three Lions captain Kane, who was not in the running for Euros and only touched the ball 13 times before being substituted on the hour mark.
Following the heartbreaking defeat, Southgate admitted that Kane had not reached the level he had hoped for during the tournament despite scoring three goals and finishing joint top scorer.
But former England goalkeeper James has defended Southgate’s decision to start Kane at the Olympic Stadium and says there is no guarantee the team would have performed better with Ollie Watkins in attack.
There were calls for the Aston Villa striker to start against Spain after his stunning semi-final winner against the Netherlands, but Southgate kept faith with his captain and the country’s all-time top scorer.
Asked if the decision was a mistake, James said: Metro.co.uk On behalf of the best online poker sites: ‘No, because when you look at the first half, it worked.
‘It’s not that we created chance after chance, but that we nullified the most dangerous team in this Euro, the team that had the most shots and scored the most goals in the end.
‘However, because Spain made that change at half-time, the demands on the team changed. Then came the opportunity for Harry to come off, which he did after 60 minutes, and we were back in the game.
“Our team was organised with a specific objective which worked. If we had had Ollie Watkins instead of Harry Kane, who knows what would have happened?
‘The only doubt was the timing of the substitution, given the game had changed so quickly in that second half, but we got ourselves four minutes away from going to extra time and Harry was on the pitch for 60 minutes of that.
‘Ollie Watkins made the difference, but the best team found a way, because that’s what the best team does.’
Southgate said “now is not the time” to make a decision on his future with England after suffering back-to-back defeats in the Euro 2019 finals, but confirmed on Tuesday that he would step down.
The 53-year-old, who has been in charge since 2016, was due to be out of contract at the end of the year but the FA wanted him to sign a new deal and lead England to the 2026 World Cup.
Former England strikers Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker believe Southgate has made the right decision after eight years in charge, but James wanted him to continue.
“I would prefer him to stay,” said the former Liverpool, Portsmouth, West Ham, Aston Villa and Manchester City star before Southgate’s resignation.
‘We’re looking for a coach who, if you ask him what his credentials are, will say, “I can take you to at least the quarter-finals of major tournaments, and very often I’ll take you to the finals,” and that’s basically what people would ask his replacement to do when he’s already doing it.
‘You can look at an individual game like last night and say, ‘We should have done this or that,’ but you ignore the fact that Spain played very well.
‘The hope is that with Gareth in charge for the next World Cup, we can put ourselves in a similar position and, however that is achieved, that we have the opportunities for our players to do things to win, rather than hoping the opponent is as good as they are.
“I don’t think he needs to be replaced. Ultimately it will be his decision, of course, but if he decides to stay, I support him 100%.”
England’s final defeat was not particularly surprising, as Southgate’s side struggled to maintain any fluidity throughout the tournament and faced an outstanding Spain side.
What did Gareth Southgate say about his future?
“Now is not the time to talk about it. I need to talk to the right people and give myself some time.
‘To get to another final… it was a privilege to have the opportunity. But to fall short is difficult at the moment.
‘Of course, taking England to two finals has never been achieved, but we came here to win and we haven’t been able to do that.
“England have some fantastic players. We’ve been consistently in the big games. This is the last step we haven’t been able to take.”
While Luis de la Fuente’s European champions won all seven of their matches during their time in Germany, England won just one group game before needing extra time and penalties to beat Slovakia and Switzerland respectively.
“England faced the best team in the history of Euro finals,” James added. “Spain finished seven out of seven and everyone knows the numbers, but there’s an old saying that to win a title you have to be the best.
‘People talk about playing someone in the quarter-finals or whatever, Spain did it against Germany and people thought it could possibly have been the final.
‘They beat them in that game, then we faced that Spanish team and we gave them a very good chance, I think.
‘In the end, they were simply too good. I think we played exceptionally well in the first half, although at times we had to control a lot and defend, as we had to do against the opposition that Spain presented.
‘Rodri’s departure at half-time and Zubimendi’s entry completely changed the way Spain played, because he played in a slightly different role.
“For a few minutes we were unable to control the game and they scored the first goal. I think Spain should be given credit for being such a good team.”
“It’s frustrating for England, but I think everyone tried their best, but it wasn’t enough.”
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