Gareth Southgate breaks two records in England’s uninspiring Euro 2024 win over Serbia
GARETH SOUTHGATE achieved two notable milestones as England boss last night.
The 53-year-old managed his side to a 1-0 win over Serbia in the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 opener.
England‘s triumph saw them clamber to the top of Group C after the first round of games.
It also ensured that Southgate moved ahead of two England legends in a pair of all-time leaderboards.
Last night’s match was the Three Lions boss’ 96th in charge of his country.
This milestone saw him climb above Sir Bobby Robson’s tally of 95.
Southgate has now only managed England on fewer occasions than 1966-World Cup winning boss Sir Alf Ramsey, who did so 113 times between 1963 and 1974.
And Sir Walter Winterbottom, who took charge of 139 games between 1946 and 1962.
Last night’s win was Southgate’s 59th in 96 matches.
This means that he has a win percentage of 61.5 per cent, edging him ahead of Ramsey’s 61.1 per cent.
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He is only behind Fabio Capello and Sam Allardyce in this regard.
Capello, now 77, won 28 of his 42 matches in charge between 2008 and 2012, at a rate of 66.7 per cent.
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While Allardyce, 69, triumphed 1-0 against Slovakia in his only match at the helm in 2016.
After last night’s 1-0 triumph, Southgate came away pleased with the exercise.
He said of Serbia: “They’re a strong team, we had to suffer a bit, which I think is really good for us.
“To come through and defend our box the way we did under pressure is important for the group.
“We obviously had good chances to extend the lead and kill the game, which we didn’t manage to take.
“I was really pleased with a lot of the play.”
England will return to action on Thursday, when they face Denmark in Frankfurt.