Harry Kane doesn't want to put Gareth Southgate under any pressure to make a quick decision on his England future after the Three Lions suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
Southgate's contract runs out later this year with reports before the Euros suggesting he would step down regardless of the result of the tournament.
But it wasn't to be a possible fairytale ending for Southgate as England lost 2-1 to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
A crestfallen Kane spoke to the BBC after the game where he was asked whether the squad want Southgate to stay on as manager for the 2026 World Cup.
However, the Bayern Munich forward was coy in his response and refused to give a definitive answer.
Harry Kane didn't want to put Gareth Southgate under any pressure to stay on
BBC
"We made it clear we love the manager," Kane said.
"But that's his decision. Now's not the time to talk about that now.
"That's down to him, he'll go away and think about it but right now we're all just hurting."
England were competing in their second consecutive Euros final having suffered a heartbreaking loss to Italy four years ago at Wembley.
But they were going up against a Spain side that beat Italy, Germany and France on their way to reaching the final.
On the other hand, England were unconvincing against Slovakia and Switzerland before a dramatic victory over the Netherlands in their semi-final.
Form goes out the window for a final, but there's no doubt Spain would go into the match full of confidence given the level of opposition they beat compared to England's route.
Spain have been lauded for their free-flowing attacking football at this tournament having scored 13 goals throughout the competition.
England were always going to have to frustrate their opposition in the final and be creative in trying to break down Spain's resolute defence.
John Stones and Marc Guehi were going to have a busy night in front of Jordan Pickford and the defensive duo put in a strong shift in the first 45 minutes to keep Alvaro Morata at bay.
Luke Shaw also impressed against 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who has emerged as the tournament's breakout star.
But Neco Williams was proving to be Spain's danger man throughout as he continually looked to get on the ball.
Gareth Southgate faces an uncertain future as England manager
REUTERS
England managed to keep Spain at arm's length in the first half without creating much themselves.
However, they were caught napping at the start of the second half with Williams in acres of space on the left and slotting the ball confidently past Jordan Pickford.
England were on the ropes as Spain threatened to score a second and take the game out of sight and Pickford came to the rescue just after the hour mark when he got down low to push Yamal's effort wide.
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Harry Kane struggled to make an impact in the final
REUTERS
Southgate sensed changes were needed with Ollie Watkins and Cole Palmer coming on for Harry Kane and Kobbie Mainoo in brave substitutions and it paid off as the Chelsea star brought England level with a brilliant finish from outside the box.
The game looked destined for extra time, but Spain broke free on the left once more as Marc Cucurella delivered a wicked ball into the box where Mikel Oyarzabal tapped in past Pickford.
There was still time for more drama moments from the end with both Declan Rice and Guehi coming extremely close to scoring late equalisers.
But time ultimately ran out for England with players dropping to the floor with tears in their eyes as the referee blew the final whistle on another European Championships final loss for the Three Lions.
