England national team manager Gareth Southgate has signed a new contract which will keep him in charge until the end of the 2022 World Cup. Southgate and Football Association (FA) chief executive Martin Glenn announced the agreement, which also includes Southgate's assistant Steve Holland, at a news conference on Thursday. The former national team defender was widely praised after England reached the semi-finals at the World Cup in Russia before losing to Croatia in the last four. Southgate, who had two years left on his deal, will now lead England into the Euro 2020 tournament and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. "I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead the national team through the next two major tournaments," said Southgate, 48, after signing his new deal. "The job remains an incredible privilege and a true honour. Experiencing at first-hand how the nation united behind the team this summer was something special and it will be great to see how far this young squad can go in the years to come," he added. Southgate initially took over as caretaker manager following the departure of Sam Allardyce in September 2016 before being confirmed in the role. The FA lost their technical director Dan Ashworth last week, after he opted to move to Premier League club Brighton and Hove Albion and clearly did not want to risk Southgate departing before the next World Cup. Martin Glenn, FA chief executive, added: "Securing Gareth on a longer-term contract was always a priority for us. He has performed remarkably well and has given everyone the belief that England can compete on a world stage again," he said. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
