England and manager Gareth Southgate were met with harsh criticisms following their World Cup match.
The England club had a 0-0 draw result against the United States on Friday. England was favored by many and was expected to win the match. However, the USMNT pulled together a strong effort. While they could’ve won the match, they took the draw and are now in a win-and-in scenario against Iran.
England is in a good spot also, but frustration mounted Friday. Southgate in particular was panned by both fans and the media. Fans of the England team who traveled to Qatar let their frustrations be heard. They booed the England team and the manager, Southgate, off the pitch following the match.
Several of them also had a lot to say about Southgate after the match concluded in Qatar.
😡 “Southgate, you bottled it.”
😠 “It was dreadful. Why didn’t we want to win that one? It was a training match.”
❌ “No goals, no effort…”
These #ENG fans aren’t happy with their performance tonight#FIFAWorldCup #TSWorldCup pic.twitter.com/iWkyTIh2Mv
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) November 25, 2022
Following the draw, the manager spoke to the media. During his availability, Southgate had a response to the boos. Via Mirror Football he said, “People are going to react how they’re going to react. I can’t let that affect how I feel.”
🗣️"People are going to react how they're going to react. I can't let that affect how I feel."
Gareth Southgate has responded to England fans booing them off in Qatar https://t.co/sBS2I4djWj
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) November 25, 2022
As far as responses go, this was a level-headed one. Southgate also admitted after the match that he believed the USMNT would provide a tough challenge and they did.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022