ALAN Shearer and Sam Allardyce both believe Gareth Southgate will walk away from England in the wake of Sunday's Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.

England were beaten 2-1 in Berlin as Southgate’s men finished Euros runners-up for the second tournament in succession.

Along with a run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup it means Southgate’s record is the envy of every England boss since Sir Alf Ramsey led the team to World Cup success in 1966.

But the former Middlesbrough captain and manager has been criticised for what many see as his conservative and cautious approach and has often been accused of having failed to get the best out of a promising crop of players.

The 53-year-old former defender, whose England contract runs out in December, said after the final that a decision on his future was “not for now”.

Newcastle great Shearer admitted Southgate had taken the national side on “one heck of a journey” since he took over in 2016 but added: “I suspect Sunday’s defeat by Spain will be his last game as England manager.

“Right now Gareth will be hurting like hell after what happened in Berlin but my feeling is that, when the dust settles on the final of Euro 2024, he will decide he’s had enough.

“It should be his decision to stay or go – and I think it will be – but it is a tiring job and he has been doing it for a long time.

“If he does leave, he should go with his head held high because England are in a completely different place now compared to where they were when he took over in 2016.

“England were at rock bottom after losing to Iceland and becoming a laughing stock that summer, followed by the embarrassment of Sam Allardyce’s exit after his short stint in charge.

“My guess is – and it is only a guess – he may now say to someone else that it is their turn to try to get England over the line.

“If he does, then he has put the team in an excellent position for someone to take the team forward, to take that next step and win a major tournament.”

READ MORE:

Allardyce, Southgate's immediate predecessor, wouldn't be surprised if the current boss decides he has taken England as far as he can.

Former Newcastle boss Allardyce was in charge of England for just 67 days and suspects the constant weight of expectation might now lead to Southgate walking away.

“The one thing Gareth has to think of is (he’s been manager for) eight years,” said Allardyce.

“Who was the last England manager to last longer than eight years? It’s a long time to soak up the pressure that’s upon you and maybe it’s the time where he thinks that his tenure has been long enough.”

England’s style of play in the last few weeks has led to Southgate facing scathing criticism and they had to come from a goal down in each of the last-16, quarter- and semi-final matches.

“We seemed to not be able to find the right system for the talent pool we had, which is very difficult when you’ve got so much talent,” Allardyce added.

“It was a little disappointing but overall Spain were the better side. The other matches where the opposition weren’t as good as we were, you could maybe criticise a bit more about our attacking play.”

Former England and Chelsea defender John Terry says Southgate won't be short of job offers if he does step down.

He said: “Gareth has been so composed and dealt with the criticism really, really well throughout.

“A lot of ex-players have been really critical of Gareth and the team – these are players that didn’t get further than a quarter-final and they criticise a manager who has done an incredible job.

“I’m sure there will be offers for Gareth in the Premier League or around the world but I think he believes there’s a trophy to win with this group of players.

“I really hope he stays because he’s been fantastic.”

Terry’s former international team-mate Gary Neville feels England must start controlling matches against bigger nations and learn to keep the ball if they are to end a long wait for a major trophy.

While Sunday’s Berlin showpiece was a tense affair and not settled until Mikel Oyarzabal struck in the 86th minute, Spain had 65 per cent possession as England tried to counter-attack their way out of trouble.

After another shot at joining the 1966 World Cup heroes in immortality went up in smoke, former England and Manchester United defender Neville said: “We were dead on our feet on that pitch.

“Until we can master the ball, find solutions to work our way out under pressure, I do think we will continue to fall short.

“At Manchester United, we won the odd game on the counter-attack but over the course of the season, we had to control football matches.

“It’s hard work being without the ball and England play without the ball in too many big games against too many big opponents.

“There’s no reason with the technical players we’ve got why we can’t keep the ball better.”

Captain Harry Kane missed the end of the season at Bayern Munich due to injury and while he scored three goals during the tournament, the 30-year-old has looked a pale imitation of the striker who has terrified defences.

Kane was again ineffective against Spain and brought off just after the hour mark, and Neville suspects he has been carrying a knock through the campaign.

“I’d be amazed if it doesn’t come out that Harry has been carrying some form of injury and patching himself up to get out on to the pitch,” Neville added.

“He physically never looked himself during the tournament, everybody could see that. Harry’s performances were nowhere near the level that he set and ultimately there will be question marks.

“If it comes out in the next couple of weeks he’s been patching himself up, there may be further questions as to why he was picked.”