United’s head coach criticized Southgate’s tactical decisions during England’s narrow 1-0 win over Serbia. While on punditry duty with Dutch broadcasters NOS, the recent FA Cup winner expressed his thoughts: “England were playing very passive. I actually saw them moving backwards, they kept Serbia coming at them. It’s the vision of the manager [Southgate]. England will take a 1-0 lead, then he [Southgate] decides to start gambling with making his team compact and relying on moments for the remaining minutes of the game.”

Former player turned pundit Richards reacted strongly to Ten Hag’s public criticism, especially noting the Dutchman’s recent challenges. Despite winning the FA Cup, Ten Hag faced criticism at United after a disappointing Premier League season. Richards reminded him of this on The Rest is Football podcast, saying, “Glass houses, to start with.We basically had this conversation in the FA Cup final and now he’s being a pundit talking about how managers are playing in a negative fashion. When we talk about Man United and they’ve not had a good season because of where they’ve finished in the league, he bites at us! It’s ridiculous! We’ve backed him so many times, saying the way he’s been treated has not been great and now he’s talking about other managers, it’s a lack of respect. It’s a lack of respect.”

During Euro 2024, Ten Hag will continue to observe closely, particularly the progress of the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Southgate will prepare England for their upcoming group stage match against Denmark on Thursday.