- England beat Serbia 1-0 in their first match of Euro 2024 on Sunday night.
- The Three Lions started well but held on in the second half.
- Listen to It’s all starting! How Southgate made it fun to play for England again
Erik ten Hag has publicly criticized England manager Gareth Southgate’s tactics following Sunday’s tense 1-0 victory over Serbia.
The Three Lions got off to a great start in Gelsenkirchen and Jude Bellingham gave them a deserved lead in the 13th minute.
However, Southgate’s team lost control of the game after the break and were relieved to take all three points at the end.
Southgate was touted as a possible replacement for Ten Hag before United decided to keep the Dutchman.
And Ten Hag is clearly not all that impressed by his fellow manager.
Erik ten Hag made a damning assessment of Gareth Southgate after Sunday’s Euro opener
Speaking to Dutch broadcaster NOS, the Manchester United manager said: “In the first half I really enjoyed Jude Bellingham. He took England by the hand and took them to a higher level.”
He continued: ‘England were playing very passively. In fact, I saw them retreat, and Serbia kept coming towards them.’
The former boss added: “It’s the manager’s (Southgate) vision. England will take a 1-0 lead, then he (Southgate) decides to start betting on making his team compact and relying on momentum for the remaining minutes of the match. .
The Dutchman spoke about his future during Sunday’s appearance on Dutch television.
Southgate’s team took the three points, but their performance was quite disappointing.
“Manchester United and I still have to reach an agreement for the new contract,” he said. ‘This is not easy to do, we are still going to have to talk about this.
“United told me that they spoke with (Thomas) Tuchel, but finally they came to the conclusion that they already have the best coach.”
Ten Hag also confirmed that he met with club officials in Ibiza to talk about his future.
‘Manchester United disrupted my holiday, they suddenly stopped at my door. They flew to me in Ibiza.
Southgate opted to bring in players like Conor Gallagher rather than more attacking options.
And he added: ‘INOES took its time. They are new to football, it is normal to reflect the season. It is no secret that they spoke with several candidates.
‘Here in Holland this is ‘not done’, in fact, it is not even allowed here. But in England they have different rules and laws.
‘As in any organization, and this seems very sensible to me, there is an evaluation. Conclusions were drawn from there. The new management is playing football for the first time.’
