Gareth Southgate Has NOT Determined The Future Of England's Separate Post From Qatar's 2022 World Cup

JAKARTA - Gareth Southgate said he needed time before making a decision about his future as England coach after the disappointment over the defeat in Qatar's 2022 World Cup quarter-finals against France.

Defending champions France won 2-1 in Qatar's 2022 World Cup match at Al Bayt Stadium, Saturday night, as well as dashed England's hopes of ending a 56-year long wait in an attempt to regain the sejaant football trophy.

Britain previously reached the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and last year's European Championship final.

Southgate said he now needed time to think before making a decision.

"Every time I finish tournaments, I need time to make the right decisions because you are emotionally experiencing so many different feelings and the energy needed through this tournament is huge, so I want to make the right decisions, whenever, for the team, for the UK, for the FA," he said on Sunday, as quoted by AFP.

"And I have to be sure that any decision I make is the right decision and I think it's right to take a little bit of time to do it because I know in the past how I feel fluctuating immediately after the tournament."

Southgate, whose contract runs until December 2024 to be able to participate in the European Championships that year, said he was proud of his team's performance in Qatar and too early to plan for his future.

"To go again requires a lot of energy and you have to make sure that you are ready for it. There is qualification (Euro 2024) in March and together there are too many things in my head to think about."

"I want to fully focus on this tournament and approach it in the way we have and I think we have given a very good one about ourselves around the world, but in the end there is only one team that wins."

He said there were "a lot of interesting things" because his team was filled with a lot of young players, and he felt their performance against France was the best they had played against the big country team during his tenure.

"They know how tight (match) it is," added the coach. "They know they have pressed the top board team throughout the game. We recorded more possession of the ball, more attempts at the goal.

"I'm very proud of their performance not just tonight but throughout the tournament. There are some young players who have shown their progress on the world stage.

"We've shown a different side of ourselves in terms of the way we play. We've shown character to bounce back from behind tonight, we've been holding pressure, expectations, everything, so I can't demand more from players or staff."