France Legend Advises England to Retain Southgate After World Cup Exit

• England were eliminated from the World Cup after a 2-1 quarter-final loss to France
• The exit has put questions on Gareth Southgate's continuity as England head coach
• A former France legend has now advised the country to stick with Southgate

The Three Lions of England were left disappointed after another major tournament failure. They were sent packing from the World Cup in the quarter-final by then world champions and eventual finalists France.

The exit was a step backward from the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup when England reached the semi-final and two steps backward from Euro 2020 where they were finalists and lost to Italy at Wembley.

Many English fans have been calling for the sacking of Gareth Southgate in the aftermath of a poor outing. The decision is yet to be and is left to the former English player to decide his own future.

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France legend Emmanuel Petit has now advised the country to retain and get behind their manager because he has exciting young players and will get what they deserve soon.

What Petit said about Southgate

The 1998 World Cup winner with France while speaking to a broadcaster as quoted by Sportskeeda has urged the English fans to be confident in their manager and their team.

''The future looks bright. I think English fans should be confident in Southgate because the team is not far away from getting what they deserve,'' he said.

Petit praises selected players

The former Chelsea midfielder also singled out some players for praise, young midfielder Jude Bellingham as well as Manchester United captain Harry Maguire.

''Of course. Bellingham, for sure. I really like Harry Maguire’s performances. I thought he had a really good tournament,'' he said of the pair.

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He also praised Bukayo Saka who plays for Arsenal, the club Petit also played for in England asides Chelsea.

''I really like Saka. In fact, I’m in love with Saka! As a player and a person, he is so sweet, and he is improving so much,'' he added.

Rice backs Southgate to stay

Sports Brief earlier reported that West Ham midfielder Declan Rice threw his weight behind England manager Gareth Southgate in support of his retention as manager despite World Cup exit.

Rice has been one of England's standout players over the years under Southgate and the 23-year-old will want their relationship to continue beyond Qatar.

The former Chelsea academy player has reiterated his desire to leave West Ham and move to a club where he could win trophies with Chelsea and Manchester United interested.