SAN FRANCISCO, November 16, (THEWILL) –Â England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed he contracted coronavirus last month, though he has fully recovered.
THEWILL learnt that prior to Sunday’s 2-0 Nations League loss to Belgium news surfaced that Southgate had previously tested positive for COVID-19. But, it was still considered a rumour until this confirmation by the manager himself.
In the aftermath of England’s vanquished hopes of reaching the Nations League Finals in the loss to Group A2 leaders Belgium, Southgate revealed the positive coronavirus test.
“I did have the virus,” Southgate revealed. “I was fortunate it was not as serious as so many people in our country but not pleasant, not something you’d choose to have but everything is fine now.”
England could not get the draw they needed to ensure their chances of topping Group A2 remained alive going into their final game against Iceland.
First-half goals from Dries Mertens and Youri Tielemans gave Belgium the victory that left them needing just one point in their final group game against Denmark to reach the Finals.
It was England’s 10th defeat in 48 matches under Southgate – making him the first manager to lose 10 games with the Three Lions since Sven-Goran Eriksson, who lost 10 of his 67 fixtures in charge.
The Three Lions also sustained back-to-back competitive internationals losses for the first time since tasting three consecutive defeats between July and September 2018.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
