England Xl under Gareth Southgate have transformed in a decade

When Gareth Southgate was appointed interim manager of the England team in October 2016, few could have imagined the journey that the England Xl from his first match – a 2‑0 victory over Malta – would later undertake over the next ten years.

Southgate’s rise and England’s progress

Southgate was given the job on a permanent basis later that year and, in the year 2016, began reshaping the England team. He guided the Three Lions to the World Cup semi‑finals in 2018 and to two European Championship finals, cementing a dramatic turnaround for the national side.

From the starting XI to club success

Joe Hart remained England’s No 1 after the Euro 2016 campaign, but Jordan Pickford overtook him before the 2018 World Cup and Hart earned his final cap in 2017. At club level Hart ended a twelve‑year spell with Manchester City, joined Burnley on a permanent deal in 2018, made 24 appearances and finished his playing career at Celtic before becoming a prominent BBC pundit.

Kyle Walker, one of only three players from that starting line‑up to make the Euro 2020 squad, moved from Tottenham to Manchester City in 2017. He collected six Premier League titles, one Champions League, four League Cups and two FA Cups, fending off competition from Kieran Trippier, Reece James and Trent Alexander‑Arnold to stay the first‑choice right‑back. Now aged 36, Walker plies his trade in the Championship with Burnley.

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Later careers and retirements

Cahill won his second Premier League crown with Chelsea in 2016‑17, earned a place in the PFA Team of the Year and succeeded John Terry as club captain. When he stepped aside from the national team in 2018, he told Southgate he would only return in an injury crisis. After seven‑and‑a‑half seasons at Chelsea he was released in 2019, later played for Crystal Palace and helped Bournemouth win promotion before retiring in November 2022.

John Stones recovered from a difficult debut season at Manchester City to help the club secure a 100‑point Premier League title in 2017‑18. A costly error in the 2019 Nations League match against Holland saw him fall out of the City side, yet his partnership with Harry Maguire defined the Southgate era and he featured at the 2026 World Cup. Stones left City in the summer, joined Inter Milan and may yet enjoy a Serie A glow‑up across Europe.

Bertrand, a reliable left‑back at Southampton, missed the 2018 World Cup and later complained that his versatility – wing‑back, central defender and left midfield in a Champions League final for Chelsea – was overlooked. He never returned to the England team, dropped down with Leicester’s sinking ship in 2023 and retired a year later. Jordan Rose battled injuries, left Tottenham for Watford on a free transfer in 2021 and hung up his boots in 2024. Dele Alli, once hailed as England’s most exciting talent, has not played for the national side since June 2019; he admitted in July 2021, “The only person I blame is myself,” describing his decline as a “crying shame”.

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Jordan Henderson, heavily criticised in 2016, blossomed into a title‑winning captain, winning the Champions League in 2019 and guiding Liverpool to their first league crown in thirty years. He declined a Saudi offer in 2023, returned to Europe with Ajax, spent a season at Brentford and now represents Chelsea. Henderson was named in England’s 2026 World Cup squad, though his sole contribution was an injured wrist during the post‑Mexico celebrations.