Gareth Southgate refused to confirm his England future post-match press conference as his side lost 2-1 to Spain to become the first nation to lose back-to-back Euros finals.
The 53-year-old told the BBC: "Now is not the time for me to speak about that. I need to talk to the right people and give myself a bit of time. To get to another final... it was a privilege to have the opportunity. But to come up short is hard at the moment."
Goals from Nico Williams and Mikel Oyarzabal succumbed them to heartbreak, as a sea of red celebrations on one side of the stadium went against a white wall of disappointment.
Cole Palmer's strike brought the match to 1-1 in the 73rd minute and it gave the Three Lions hope, but they were lacklustre throughout and failed to match Spain's intensity.
The defeat continues a recurring theme for England under Southgate. Under his leadership, they have improved year after year, but on major occasions, they falter. When three lions are meant to roar to assert their dominance, England's down their tools — and even they did not learn from the experience of three years ago.
Southgate became England manager, initially on a temporary basis, in 2016. In the past eight years, they have reached a World Cup semi-final and two Euros finals, yet the elusive trophy has never been claimed. Compared to previous generations, it's impressive, but there will always be a case of 'what if'.
Despite the disappointment, Southgate still highlighted his pride in the team even if there was a natural disappointment. "The team has done the country proud. But at the moment, I have to say that none of that matters because we had an opportunity to win and we did not take it," he stated.
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A lacklustre performance
England's performances had slowly but surely improved throughout the Euros. During the group stage, they were lucky to even progress, whilst only wonder strikes against Slovakia and Switzerland saved the nation.
Although it was a strong performance against the Netherlands, England did not take the final step for the match in Berlin. Luis De La Fuente's side dominated possession, always looked comfortable and narrowly deserved victory in the capital city.
Southgate described the night as "incredibly tough" during his post-match press conference.
"To lose a final is incredibly tough. Congratulations to Spain, they were the best team in the tournament," he started the conference with.
"Our players have been incredible. They couldn't have given any more. Tonight we fell short. We didn't keep the ball well enough. We did not use the ball well until we were a goal down. The physical toll of the issues we came into the tournament with and the extra-time periods, took a big toll."
Meanwhile, captain Harry Kane was replaced in the 60th minute by Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins. Despite scoring the joint-most goals in the tournament (three), the Bayern Munich striker never seemed at his best. He sustained a back injury at the end of the campaign in Germany — and it seems he is yet to fully recover from it.
The manager was asked about the striker's performance, highlighting how England had several fitness issues coming into Euro 2024.
"Not a tournament too far. I think so many of our players came into the camp having missed the end of the season. We managed to get Luke [Shaw] through 90 minutes when he hadn't played in four months," Southgate said.
"That physical toll was definitely an issue for us with others in the group as well. But that's exacerbated when you do not keep the ball well enough at the start of the game."
"He [Kane] has played a lot of minutes. We have tried to manage those minutes. A lot has fallen on his shoulders and he's done that exceptionally well. We felt we needed to get more pressure on the centre-backs, which is why we brought on Watkins when we did."
