Yahoo Finance Trevor Steven: My hope for 2024 is that Southgate takes final step with England
When I think about my football hopes for the coming year there is one thing that stands out above all else: for England to win Euro 2024.
Gareth Southgate has done an excellent job of turning around the national team’s fortunes since he was installed as manager in 2016.
In three major tournaments under Southgate, they have reached a World Cup semi-final, a European Championship final, and only lost in Qatar last year to runners-up France.
At Euro 2024 in Germany next summer, they have an excellent opportunity to make that final step and lift a first trophy since 1966.
They have a terrific group of players, led by world-class stars in Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who both also have experience of German football.
But to win the tournament I think England will need to be braver tactically than they have been in the recent past.
In the World Cup semi-final with Croatia, they led but conceded the initiative and lost. At the last Euros, they led in the final but sat off Italy and paid the price.
On both occasions victory was there for the taking but Southgate wasn’t bold enough in making changes in-game.
It might go against his nature but I really hope that he will be more proactive in the decisive moments of the biggest matches.
This will probably be his last tournament in the job and it would be a real shame if he didn’t manage to go all the way once with this group.
Winning Euro 2024 would see England’s men match the achievements of the Lionesses and represent the perfect way for Southgate to cap off his reign.
VAR and handball
Not a week goes by without some controversy or other erupting around refereeing decisions in the Premier League.
Nobody expects the officiating to be perfect but, at a domestic level especially, the use of VAR really has to get better.
An obvious improvement would be adopting semi-automated offsides, which have been in use in some competitions for some time – but not the Premier League.
And the handball laws are in desperate need of clarification. When managers and players are saying they don’t know what the rules are any more, you know there is a problem.
How they do it is up to Howard Webb and his team of referees, but my hope is that we will see real progress on these issues in 2024.
Trevor Steven is a former England footballer who played at two World Cups and two European Championships. @TrevorSteven63.
