England boss Gareth Southgate answers question about future after World Cup heartbreak

England boss Gareth Southgate has refused to provide a firm answer on whether or not he will continue as manager following his side's World Cup quarter-final loss to France . The Three Lions were devastated after goals from Aurélien Tchouaméni and Olivier Giroud were enough for the Blues to claim victory, with Harry Kane scoring but also missing a penalty.

Southgate has a contract until 2024 but did not rule out leaving earlier when asked recently. And responding to a question from ITV after the game, Southgate replied: "I think after every tournament we have sat down, considered and thought and we need a bit of time to make sure everyone world makes the right decisions."

ITV pundits Gary Neville and Roy Keane also had their say on whether or not they thought Southgate would go on, and strongly backed the 52-year-old.

“I would like Gareth to stay for two years,” Neville said. "I'd like to stay beyond that, whether it's as a coach or whether it's a role in the FA that decides the future.

"England in the last 10 years have won youth tournaments, won the women's tournament this summer, we have reached the men's final, we have good technical players, England are well placed - let's be clear, we've come out of tournaments in disgrace in the past thinking 'what do we do for the future?' We have a great future and he is part of it."

Keane added: "You expect Gareth to stay for the Euros. Obviously he will have an exit plan in mind. You look at the players, they will be making the decisions over the next few months. He did a brilliant job but he will have to look at the future, the family situation, does he want to give it a few years? I hope he does."

And Ian Wright also got involved and continued: "I have to agree with Gary. The leadership skills, he's one of the most successful managers since Sir Alf Ramsey. I would love to see him keep doing it.< /p>

"If he's not, he's going to play a role for England at different levels of the game. It's even disappointing to the point where I said we came back twice because I don't didn't see Harry missing that."

Southgate also commented on his side's performance, in a game where England dominated for long periods but failed to kill their opponents. “Well, I think the performance [deserved better],” he said. "Goals are decisive but I just told the players in there, I think they can't give anymore, they did well against a top team.

“Those are good margins, things at both ends of the court decided the game. I think the way they have progressed throughout the tournament has been fantastic.”