Results also show that Harry Kane’s reputation has taken a hit over the course of the tournament
Football was so close to coming home this summer, but a goal from Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal in the 86th minute dashed England’s hopes of a tournament victory for another two years.
Two days after the final game England manager Gareth Southgate resigned from his role, after eight years in charge and two second place Euro tournament finishes. Now a new YouGov survey finds that eight in ten football fans in England say that Southgate was right to resign, with only 14% disagreeing.
This should not be mistaken for negativity towards Southgate, however. More than six in ten of this same group (61%) have a favourable view of the England manager, compared to 38% with an unfavourable view.
This puts the post-tournament view of Southgate at about the same level as it was pre-tournament, although his ratings went on a rollercoaster ride in the intervening period, with the number of fans with a positive view falling to 43% at their lowest ebb shortly before the quarter finals, and peaking at 69% shortly before the final.
Where Gareth Southgate’s ratings have ended up much where they started, Harry Kane’s have taken a hammering. Prior to the tournament 84% of football fans in England said they had a favourable view of the England captain, this dipped to the high 60s in the mid-tournament, before recovering to 74% prior to the final. Having performed poorly in the final, Kane’s positive rating among fans has fallen to just 53% - a reduction of more than 30 points since the tournament began.
Attitudes towards the England team itself are also lower now (79% positive) than they were pre-tournament (91%).
England did not deserve to win Euro 2024, say football fans
Speaking after the final, former Manchester United captain Gary Neville said that: “We did not deserve to win tonight or in the tournament because we did not play as well as we could do, and Spain has been very good, but performance in the end has just caught us out.”
This is a sentiment that fans overwhelmingly agree with; fully 87% of football fans in England say that the Three Lions did not deserve to lift the trophy this time, compared to only 10% who think they did.
With the Euros done and dusted for another four years, our survey finds that 45% of adults in England say they followed a great deal or a fair amount of the Euro 2024 tournament, and 70% followed it to any degree. Scots – whose national team made a rare appearance in this year’s competition – were about as likely to have caught any of the tournament (68%), while Welsh people were less likely to do so (56%).
The results also show the extent to which major tournaments are able to attract viewers who are not normally interested in football. Almost half of those who watched any of Euro 2024 (47%) say they are not very or at all interested in football, with a quarter of those who watched "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of the tournament (24%) saying they are not typically interested in the sport.
What do you think about Gareth Southgate, the England team's performance at the Euros in general, and everything else? Have your say, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here.
Photo: Getty
