Former England manager Sam Allardyce has sparked controversy by attributing England’s defeat in the Euro 2024 final to the scarcity of English players in the Premier League.
Despite Gareth Southgate’s team reaching the final, Allardyce believes the country’s talent pool is being hindered by the dominance of foreign players in the top flight.
“Oh, absolutely,” Allardyce said in an interview on Good Morning Britain. “You have to remember that we’ve got the strongest, the biggest football league in the world…but when you end up with the vast majority of the Premier League’s players being foreign, then you’ve got a big problem when it comes to putting your youngsters in the side and finding the youngsters to come through that are English to play for England.”
Allardyce emphasized the need for English clubs to prioritize homegrown players to strengthen the national team.
“We must try and do more to try and get our youngsters into football clubs and through the football club system and into the national team,” he urged.
Allardyce’s comments have drawn mixed reactions, with some agreeing that the lack of English players in the Premier League is a concern, while others argue that foreign players enhance the league’s competitiveness and benefit the national team in the long run.
About the Euro 2024 Final:
England’s bid for European glory came to a heartbreaking end on Sunday, as they fell 2-1 to Spain in the Euro 2024 final at the Olympiastadion.
Nico Williams and Mikel Oyarzabal scored for Spain, while Cole Palmer’s strike proved to be a consolation for England. The Three Lions’ defeat marks their second successive Euro final loss, following their heartbreaking penalty shootout loss to Italy in 2020.
“We’re devastated,” England coach Gareth Southgate said in a post-match interview. “We gave it our all, but Spain was the better team tonight. We’ll regroup and come back stronger for the next World Cup and Euros.”
King Charles, who attended the match, consoled the England players and congratulated Spain on their victory. “You made us proud,” he told the team. “Keep your heads up and keep working hard.”
The defeat marks a bitter end to an otherwise impressive tournament campaign for England, who had hoped to bring home their first major trophy since 1966. Instead, they will return home empty-handed, left to ponder what could have been.