Indonesia
Nigeria
South Africa

Gareth Southgate honeymoon brought to embarrassing end with Hungary humbling

mirror.co.uk, 14 June 2022, 21:00
England fell to a shocking 4-0 defeat to Hungary at Molineux on Tuesday with the final whistle being greeted by mass boos at Molineux and there are now real doubts over the position over Gareth Southgate for the first time

The longest honeymoon is finally over for Gareth Southgate.

England were humiliated at Molineux, outplayed and outwitted by Hungary for the second time in 11 days as Southgate's men were brought crashing down to earth.

Beaten by a team ranked 40th in the world, below Scotland and the crowd really began to turn on Southgate as loud boos rang out with a chorus of "you don't know what you're doing" after the third goal went in.

"We want Southgate out" chants followed the fourth as England were systematically taken apart by Hungary and suffered their worst home defeat since 1928. It was compounded by John Stones being sent off in the 82nd minute - albeit harshly for a second yellow - but that just about summed up England's night.

It was the night when Southgate, who has enjoyed so many good times after reaching the World Cup semi final and the Euros final last summer, was given a brutal reminder of just how tough the impossible job can be.

England have now gone six hours - four games - without a goal from open play and this is the worst run of results since 2014 which saw Roy Hodgson's men return home from the World Cup before the postcards.

Make no mistake, Southgate is now facing the biggest crisis of his six year reign and, after insisting last week he would not outstay his welcome, he may live to regret being quite so bullish.

Incredibly, England are facing the humiliating prospect of being relegated from Nations League Group A3. It is the competition England could have done without at the end of the season and also might be the one which will haunt Southgate.

Southgate looked shell shocked at the final whistle, not knowing quite what to do or where to look as these are unquestionably the darkest days of his England reign and a large section of the fans have already turned. This was supposed to be the night when England turned the campaign around but it started badly after 16 minutes - and got worse.

Should Gareth Southgate's position be under review? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Hungary's Dominik Szoboszlai swung over a free kick from the left, John Stones failed to clear, Harry Kane missed a clearance and there was Roland Sallai to smash home past a despairing Aaron Ramsdale who got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out.

Szoboszlai's set pieces were causing havoc and England could so easily have gone further behind but for Reece James heading another free kick off the line. England looked half asleep.

Jarrod Bowen looked out of his depth and was subbed at half time, Connor Gallagher followed soon after in the second half, England went to a back three but that only smacked of desperation and not knowing what they were doing. It got even worse for England after 70 minutes.

Kalvin Phillips, who looked so far off the pace, was caught horribly in possession, Martin Adam set up Sallai and the Hungary forward smashed his second past Ramsdale.

Zsolt Nagy smashed home a third after 80 minutes by which time the England fans were in open revolt. Stones saw red two minutes later for a second yellow card, a harsh decision as he barely touched Daniel Gazdag. It was Gazdag who made it 4-0 after 89 minutes after England's defence was carved wide open to send the Hungary fans into delight as they celebrated a famous victory on a painful night for England and Southgate.

The chants descended into "You're getting sacked in the morning." Now Southgate is facing a very tough six months in the build-up to the World Cup.

Top News

14 January 2025 talksport.com Troy Deeney's opinion on Mohamed Salah still hasn't changed, but that's not to say he doesn't think he's brilliant. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly used to 'roll his eyes' whenever Harry Maguire talked in the Manchester United dressing room. 14 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool are reportedly ahead of Newcastle United in the race to sign Sevilla defender Loic Bade. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been told that he must 'take the blame' for the club failing to sign a striker. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Michael Owen may boast an enviable goal tally from his career, but he has not been quite so prolific in front of the movie screen. 14 January 2025 talksport.com All Premier League clubs have avoided any charges for breaching Profit and Sustainability rules, but Leicester City remain at risk. 14 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool will reportedly consider using Ben Doak as part of a transfer package to sign Bournemouth attacker Antoine Semenyo. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Arsenal are close to completing the signing of midfielder Martin Zubimendi -- but he won't arrive until the summer, talkSPORT understands. 14 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal will reportedly complete the signing of Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi at the end of the season. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Timing is everything in comedy, and with the north London derby up next, Sol Campbell has produced a performance for the ages. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Manchester United are among the sides eyeing up £40million rated Parma goalkeeper Zion Suzuki - two years after missing the chance to snap him up for a fraction of that price tag. 14 January 2025 talksport.com West Ham have had a fresh bid for Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran rejected, talkSPORT understands. 14 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea have reportedly set their asking price for Christopher Nkunku, who has been heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Christopher Nkunku has verbally agreed a move to Bayern Munich, talkSPORT understands. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Manchester City are back throwing around the big bucks in an attempt to save their season. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Manchester United host Southampton at Old Trafford on Thursday night aiming to build on their impressive recent results. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Nottingham Forest will be looking to bring themselves right into title contention tonight when they host Liverpool. 14 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Club legend Pat Nevin has suggested that Chelsea's business model will be labelled a failure unless they qualify for next season's Champions League. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Troy Deeney loves Newcastle, regardless of what is being said about him. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko is wanted by Borussia Dortmund, talkSPORT understands. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Emma Raducanu booked her place in the Australian Open second round despite difficulties with her serve. 14 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk De Graafschap and Heracles will be targeting a place in the KNVB Beker quarter-finals when they square off on Thursday night. 14 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Deepest sympathies are with cursed Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus, who just a few weeks on from reigniting his Gunners career is now anticipated to miss the rest of the season with a suspected ACL rupture. 14 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole that he expects wantaway defender Kyle Walker to leave the club during the January transfer window. 14 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Leicester City are reportedly willing to sell defender Wout Faes in the January transfer window. 14 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Bayern Munich director Christopher Freund has suggested that they would prefer to retain the services of Mathys Tel. 14 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta refused to confirm reports that Gabriel Jesus had suffered an ACL injury, but the Gunners boss admitted once again that he is "very worried" about the Brazilian. 14 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly rejected a lucrative offer for the signature of Darwin Nunez. 14 January 2025 talksport.com Arsenal are looking to reignite their long-term interest in Dusan Vlahovic, talkSPORT understands. 14 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea are reportedly open to parting ways with Axel Disasi before the end of the January transfer window.