Image source, Getty Images

Sir Geoff Hurst, who scored a hat-trick in the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany at Wembley to help England men’s team win their only major trophy, spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast about Sunday’s defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final:

“We played the best team at the tournament, it’s a one-off
game and like everyone else in the country I was bitterly disappointed about
losing the game,” said the 82-year-old former West Ham striker.

“But you’ve got to look
at it overall – two Euros finals, semi finals of a World Cup. Under Gareth Southgate, it’s been absolutely
fantastic.

“We’ve got a group of young players who are young enough to
play in the next tournament and, of course, that’s where it all starts, at grassroots level. We had the third youngest
side [in the tournament] but with a lot of experience.

“I’m not
going to be negative – I’m bitterly disappointed, but my view around Southgate is
that it’s a very stressful job.

“My own
personal view is that he [Southgate] will say ‘enough is enough’ because that’s a long time
in an incredibly stressful job, managing the national team.”