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The English Football Association will consider Lionesses coach Sarina Wiegman as a candidate to manage the senior men's squad if or when Gareth Southgate steps down as manager, said FA chief executive Mark Bullingham. Just 13 months after leading the squad to its first international championship at Euro 2022, Wiegman has led England to the final of the Women's World Cup in Australia, where they will face Spain in Sydney on Sunday.
After Vlatko Andonovski decided to resign as USWNT coach following the reigning world champions' round of 16 World Cup exit, the former Netherlands coach, who is under contract to the FA until 2025, is anticipated to be a top contender.
But FA CEO Bullingham added that Wiegman "could do anything she wants in football" and that he would consider a woman to lead the men's squad after Wiegman replaced Phil Neville as coach of the England women's team in September 2021. "People always say it is the best man for the job or the best Englishman," Bullingham stated recently. "Why does it have to be a man? I think our answer is always, it's the best person for the job,” Bullingham added further.
Although Gareth Southgate's contract as manager of the men's team lasts until the conclusion of Euro 2024, he has said that after England was eliminated from the Qatar 2022 quarterfinals, he thought about leaving the position. When Southgate finally steps down as manager of the England men's team, there are no standout candidates in the men's game who can match Wiegman's recent record, despite the fact that players like Graham Potter, Frank Lampard, and Eddie Howe are likely to be contenders.
Although Hannah Dingley briefly served as the interim manager of EFL League Two club Forest Green Rovers during the summer, no woman has been named the manager of a senior men's football team. Bullingham claimed that football lags behind other sports in the number of female coaches.
Wiegman, who was in charge when England's women's side won the European Championships last year—the country's first major international trophy in 56 years—has guided them to the Women's World Cup final in Australia. With her fourth straight major international final on Sunday against Spain, she is considered one of the top coaches in all of football. The Netherlands, under Wiegman, won Euro 2017 and came in second to the United States in the 2019 World Cup.
