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Gareth Southgate's five biggest England moments

Gareth SouthgateImage source, Getty

Gareth Southgate has signed a new contract with England until 2024.

The England manager's previous contract was due to run out in 2022 after the Qatar World Cup. He's been in charge of the national side since November 2016.

In July, he led England to the final of Euro 2020 - the best men's performance in 55 years.

Here are five of his biggest moments as manager of England.

1. Landing the job

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Gareth Southgate has been the England manager since 2016

It all could have been very different for England.

Following the departure of Roy Hodgson after the 2016 European Championships, the Football Association hired then Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce to take over.

Allardyce only managed one game as England boss before he was sacked by the FA for an off-the-field incident.

Southgate - who was the England under 21 manager - was brought in as an short term fix, and he was only supposed to take charge of four games.

But, he did so well in his opening games that he was given the job full time.

2. Penalty shootout history

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Eric Dier (pictured) scored the winning penalty for England against Colombia in the 2018 World Cup

Ahead of the 2018 World Cup, expectations for England were pretty low.

Recent performances at major tournaments had been disappointing, with England failing to get out of the group at the 2014 World Cup.

However, Southgate's young lions defied expectations with a few eye catching performances and made it through to a Round of 16 tie against Colombia.

With the score tied at 1-1 after extra time, the match went to penalties. Up until this point England had never won a penalty shootout in a World Cup.

Defender Eric Dier wrote his name in the history books, scoring the winning penalty as Southgate's men went through to the quarter finals and beyond.

3. World Cup heartbreak

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England lost the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup against Croatia

England easily beat Sweden in the quarter-finals, before taking on Croatia for a chance to face France in the World Cup final.

They even took the lead through a first-half Kieran Trippier freekick. However, it wasn't to be on the night and Southgate's men eventually lost the match 2-1.

Just four months later, they faced Croatia again for a place in the 2019 Uefa Nations League finals. This time England won 2-1.

An extra-time loss to the Netherlands in the semi-final ended England's hopes but they did manage to secure third place with a win over Switzerland.

4. First final in 55 years

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Southgate consoling Bukayo Saka (pictured) after losing the Euro 2020 final

England went one better in Euro 2020 by making it to their first final in 55 years.

They played Italy at Wembley for the chance to lift the European Championship trophy for the first time ever.

Just like in the World Cup semi-final, England took an early lead. However, they couldn't hold onto it and, after an Italy equaliser, the match went to penalties.

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all missed their penalties and the dream was over for the three lions.

After the match, several of England's black players suffered racist abuse online.

Southgate was praised for his reaction to the abuse, calling on police to take strong action against the abusers.

5. Qualifying for Qatar 2022 in style

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Southgate congratulating Harry Kane after helping England secure qualification for the 2022 World Cup

In just five years, Southgate has completely changed the perception of the England nation team.

In 2016, they were regarded as serial under achievers. Now, lots of experts think England are one of the best international teams in the world.

Earlier this month, his side secured qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in style with a 5-0 win over Albania at Wembley and a 10-0 win over San Marino.