FA promises Southgate to remain manager after World Cup

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The English Football Association (FA) has given full trust to Gareth Southgate, manager of the English men's football team, that no matter what his team achieves in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Southgate will not be dismissed, according to Daily Mirror on Monday.

Since he took over Roy Hodgson as the manager in 2016, Southgate has not taken a test in any major event. The coming World Cup from June 14 will be the first true challenge to him though the trust from FA should reduce the pressure on his shoulder.

FA's chief executive Martin Glenn said they have a long-term plan for Southgate and his team. "Of course he went there (Russia) for victory, but our plan is sustainable," said Glenn. Southgate signed a contract that should keep him the team's manager until 2020.

England has sent a young team to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. /VCG Photo

Glenn also mentioned that they believe the players they have selected will show good performance at the World Cup. He hoped that these players can still be in the field at the 2020 European Football Championship and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. England has sent a young team to Russia including 24-year-old Harry Kane, 22-year-old Dele Alli and 23-year-old Raheem Sterling.

FA has put such great faith in Southgate for good reasons. In 2017, he made great contributions to the English football teams winning champions at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the UEFA European U19 Championship and the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Such success has given FA confidence that Southgate is the manager they have been looking for.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Southgate said that result at the World Cup is not everything. It is more important to establish the correct style for players so they can have better development in the future.

Belgium is the only challenging opponent team to England in Group G. /VCG Photo

Despite FA's trust and promise, there has to be a minimum standard for Southgate and his team at the World Cup. England is at Group with Belgium, Tunisia and Panama. While Belgium is a competitive opponent, the last time England played with Tunisia was 20 years ago, not mention Panama that just made into the World Cup for the first time. So if nothing big goes wrong, England should be able to enter the knockout stage.