Gareth Southgate has revealed that he turned down the chance to be a TV pundit throughout the 2026 World Cup.
For the first time in four major tournaments, Southgate will not be the one leading the Three Lions after stepping down in the aftermath of the Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain.
Thomas Tuchel is the man tasked with completing the job that Southgate was just short of, but, despite having the chance to appear on TV, the former England boss chose not to.
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Why Gareth Southgate didn’t want to be a pundit for England games
In a post on his Instagram account, Southgate sent a message of encouragement to the England squad.
He then explained why he didn’t want to be a pundit, explaining that he didn’t think it was “helpful” for the team if he was on air talking about them.
“It’s obviously a very different tournament for me this one, I’ve been at the last seven World Cups as a player, as a broadcaster, a scout and then as the manager,” Southgate wrote.
“So this time I took a conscious decision not to do the TV. I didn’t think it would be helpful for me to be talking about the team and I don’t want anything to be misconstrued or thrown at them at press conferences, so best for me to keep out of the way.”
Gareth Southgate’s message to England
Following on from his explanation, he had a simple message for the players he spent almost a decade with.
“I want to take a moment to say good luck to all the boys,” he added. “All the knockout nights they’ve had means they are going to be full of confidence going into the tournament.
“They have overcome so many hurdles to winning, penalty shootouts, semi-finals, we got so close and they are ready to win. I am looking forward to watching. I hope everybody has a great one and I will be staying out of the way.”
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