Matt Maher: FA hope Southgate is the gift that keeps on giving

For much of the past week it appeared Southgate would not make a decision on his future until the New Year.

Instead, he has made up his mind much sooner, informing his bosses he is ready to remain in post until at least the end of his existing contract, which expires two years from now.

The decision reflects something of a change of heart from Southgate, with many close to the England manager believing he would walk away no matter how his team fared at the World Cup.

A bruising summer, which saw the 52-year-old barracked and abused by sections of the crowd when the Three Lions suffered a 4-0 Nations League defeat at Molineux, had caused him to question whether he still had the support of the public.

He did not want any negativity around his own position to affect the team. Yet England’s performances in Qatar – most notably in their quarter-final defeat to France – did change his thinking.

Though their exit was the earliest in the three tournaments in his tenure, their showing was in many respects the most encouraging and impressive, the display against the French arguably the best by the Three Lions against a top team since going out to Portugal in 2006.

Far from looking stale and in need of fresh ideas, England were one of the best teams in the tournament and simply unfortunate they fell the wrong side of the fine margins. A bounce of the ball here or a different refereeing decision there and it really could have been Harry Kane lifting the trophy in Doha last night.

Southgate’s decision will be greeted with delight at the FA, who had no real succession plan and a less than stellar track record of appointing England managers before getting lucky in 2016, with a man initially given the role on an interim basis after Sam Allardyce had to resign in disgrace.

Most importantly, the news will be welcome by players who are continuing to buy into Southgate’s methods.

Where there will be some dissatisfaction among those supporters who believe recent success has been achieved in spite of the man in the dugout and that England would have progressed further in each of his three tournaments – and indeed won Euro 2020 – were it not for poor in-game decision-making.

It is true Southgate, like any other manager, is not perfect. It is entirely possible different substitutions might have delivered different results against Croatia in 2018, Italy in 2021 and France earlier this month.

Yet there are no guarantees there and the danger of looking too closely at the detail is ignoring the bigger picture and the huge strides made under a manager who comfortably ranks as England’s second-best ever behind Sir Alf Ramsey.

In six years, Southgate has doubled England’s number of knockout wins at major tournaments, while the second round victory over Senegal in Qatar marked the first time they have won knockout matches in three consecutive tournaments.

Perspective is too easily forgotten when it comes to England. But consider yesterday was France’s fourth World Cup final (in seven tournaments) and Argentina’s sixth and you get a greater understanding of the Three Lions’ true standing in the global game. Southgate’s reign, in a historical context, could never be described as a failure. On the contrary, we are witnessing an era of almost unprecedented success.

Of course there should be pressure to win a trophy with a talented – though still developing and far from complete – group of players. Yet the fact England will go to Euro 2024 being talked of seriously as potential winners is testament to a transformation which Southgate has done more than anyone to achieve.