Gareth Southgate was targeted with missiles by irate England fans following their latest dismal Euro 2024 performance in Cologne.
Although England topped the group with this goalless draw against Slovenia, they were once again booed by their own supporters after the final whistle. Southgate faced further hostility as three plastic pint cups were thrown at him while he acknowledged the traveling fans.
This latest underwhelming display has raised more doubts about the team’s chances of winning a tournament they were favored to win, and has increased uncertainty about Southgate’s position as head coach after the Euros, given the fans’ reaction.
Addressing the incident with the plastic cups, Southgate said, “I understand it. I’m not going to back away from it. The most important thing is we stay with the team. I understand the narrative towards me. That’s better for the team than it being towards them, but it is creating an unusual environment to operate in.”
‘I recognise when you have moments like at the end of the game, I’m asking the players to be fearless, I’m not going to back down from going to thank our fans at the end of the game.
‘However they feel towards me, I get it, I’ve been around England for 20 years, I’ve seen it. My job is to guide the team through this and get the very best out of the team and keep this perspective for them.
‘I’m very very happy with how they’ve handled the last few days in particular.’
In explaining what he meant by an ‘unusual environment’, Southgate said: ‘It’s taken me back to days when I was playing with England. They’ve dealt with it really well.
‘The expectation has changed with England, we have made England again and enjoyable for the players and we have to be very careful it stays that way.
‘We showed composure with the ball, waiting for the opportunity. We dominated the second half. We kept defensive solidity. We didn’t manage to get the goals and of course we would have loved to have sent the fans home happy, but we were definitely an improvement on the last game.
