Gareth Southgate said “now is not the time” to decide his future as the England manager praised his heartbroken players after a European Championship final he admitted Spain deserved to win.

A summer that started with unconvincing performances and jeers from the stands ended with just a third ever major men’s final appearance and a shot at history in Berlin.

England suffered a crushing penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy at this stage three years ago and another shot at joining the 1966 World Cup heroes in immortality went up in smoke on Sunday.

 
 

Cole Palmer had cancelled out Nico Williams’ opener shortly after coming off the bench, only for Mikel Oyarzabal to seal Spain a 2-1 win and a record fourth continental crown at the Olympiastadion.

“To lose a final is incredibly tough,” England boss Southgate said. “Firstly, congratulations to Spain. They were the best team in the tournament. They were the best team tonight.

“Our players have been incredible, they’ve given everybody some incredible nights. They couldn’t have given anymore in terms of their effort, their desire, their character.

“Tonight we fell short, we didn’t keep the ball well enough. We actually defended well in the first half in particular, limited their possibilities, but we couldn’t play through the counter press well enough.

“We actually didn’t really use the ball well until we were a goal down and then we had a decent period in the game.

 

“We got the equaliser but I think the physical toll of the issues we came into the tournament with, the extra-time periods and then tonight, having as little of the ball as we did, ultimately that took a big toll

“I think was part of the reason why at the end, you know, legs started to go and you start to make mistakes.

“But, you know, the players have pushed it till the 85th minute as the final game. They’ve been incredible, really.”

Southgate’s side could not get to grips with a slick Spain side at the end of his fourth – and quite possibly final – tournament in charge.

The England manager has overseen a marked change in fortunes since being parachuted into the hotseat in 2016, but he has decisions to make with his contract expiring in December.

“I don’t think now is a good time to make a decision like that,” Southgate told ITV. “I’m going to talk to the right people and, yeah, it’s just not for now.”

Gareth Southgate walks dejected past the Euro 2024 trophy (Bradley Collyer/PA)Gareth Southgate walks dejected past the Euro 2024 trophy (Bradley Collyer/PA)

Pushed in the press conference about his future and whether going so close gives him extra fire to go on as England boss, he said: “Look, I totally understand the question and understand that you need to ask it.

“But I need to have those conversations with important people behind the scenes. I’m obviously not going to discuss that publicly first.

“Without a doubt, England have got some fabulous young players and even the young ones now have got a lot of experience of tournaments.

“Many of this squad are going to be around in two, four, six, eight years’ time. We have now been consistently back in the matches that matter but it’s the last step that we haven’t been able to do.

“It’s hard to reflect so soon after a defeat like this. Of course, to take England to two finals has never been done but yeah, we came here to win and we haven’t been able to do that.”

There is plenty to pore over after once again going so close to glory, with distraught Southgate having plenty to mull over after defeat in his 102nd match in charge.

“I think the team have done the country proud,” he said. “They’ve reached the first final away from England. A second final in two tournaments is incredible, really.

“They’ve played 14 matches in the last two European Championships and we’ve lost in the last five minutes of the 14th game. We weren’t beaten other than in penalties in that period. It’s an incredible run.

“But at the moment I have to say in my head none of that matters because we had an opportunity to win and we haven’t been able to take it.”