Gareth Southgate set to step down as England manager after Euro 2024

Southgate could walk away after Euro, FA will try to lure Pep Guardiola as next England manager

The possibility of Gareth Southgate leaving his position as England's head coach is no longer the big issue it once was.

The FA hierarchy is aware of the ambiguity and seriously considering the potential that Gareth Southgate would retire after the European Championship in Germany next summer.

When Eddie Howe, Graham Potter, and Mauricio Pochettino all had to be taken into consideration in the case that Southgate resigned, they had comparable feelings before last year's World Cup.

Pep Guardiola is considered by some to be the FA's ideal hire, and officials are open to considering this possibility.

Regardless of what happened in Qatar last winter, the FA was keen for Southgate to remain. As it turned out, Southgate was persuaded to continue after losing to eventual champions France in the quarterfinals.

Despite the challenging summer of 2022, when their form plummeted, England have become one of the top footballing nations, in large measure because of Southgate.

However, FA technical director John McDermott met with colleagues before leaving for Qatar to talk about potential replacements. They evaluated Howe and Potter's advantages and came to the conclusion that both would execute a philosophy that was appealing and in line with the organization's culture.

However, Potter had recently accepted the position at Chelsea while Howe was in the spotlight of a project at Newcastle that was progressing quickly. It was not guaranteed to entice either away from club football.

The virtues of Pochettino, who was unemployed after departing Paris Saint-Germain, as well as Brendan Rodgers, who worked for Leicester at that point, were considered.

The FA's desire to hire a non-Englishman for the very first time since Fabio Capello in 2008 was demonstrated by Rodgers and Pochettino's candidatures. But by the end of those early discussions, it was obvious what their desired vision was: Southgate would remain.

This time, creating an exit strategy seems more important given that Southgate's contract will come to an end at the conclusion of the following year. It's conceivable that Howe, Potter, Pochettino, and Rodgers will continue to be viable choices.