Gareth Southgate’s last dance begins to the soundtrack of England fans’ toxic rage | Jonathan Liew

As his last tournament cycle starts, let’s appreciate a manager who has endured a grossly disproportionate level of derision

Gareth Southgate, the whole of England is with you. Perhaps this was the first and last point at which these words were ever spoken truthfully. Perhaps it wasn’t even true at the time. The inevitable tranche of snark and eyeball-rolling at Southgate’s latest England squad belies the fact that very little of substance has changed in the three months since the defeat against France.

The seven midfielders are the same as they were in Qatar. Harry Maguire is still in the centre of defence. Harry Kane’s penalty is still airborne. And for all the soul-searching and agonising, Southgate too is still there: still politely explaining himself to an audience that will never listen, still cocking his head slightly as questions are put to him, a gesture that says yes, this is the stupidest formulation of words ever constructed in the English language, but I’m listening.