Steve Borthwick signed off an encouraging World Cup after England edged Argentina 26-23 at the Stade de France to claim third place.
The Pumas paid the price for allowing England to build a 13-0 lead and while they fought back to control the second-half, Borthwick’s men held their nerve to send scrum-half Ben Youngs into Test retirement with a bronze medal.
Their only defeat at France 2023 was the agonising 16-15 loss to South Africa in the semi-final.
“I’m delighted for the players to get the win after they have worked so hard,” Borthwick said.
“We won six games out of seven and lost one game by one point to the current world champions and current world number one, which shows the progress of the team. It shows how the team has built during the tournament.
“Playing finals games at World Cups is important. In the last two World Cups this group of players have played six finals games and won four of them.
“Clearly we want to be in the final and winning the gold medal. That wasn’t to be, but having finals experience has been important for this squad.
“The players should be very proud of their efforts and the challenges they have overcome. While things haven’t been perfect, they find a way to win games.
“Now we didn’t last weekend – we lost by a point, which will hurt for a long time. But when the players have found themselves in tough circumstances they have found a way to win.”
With all neutrals at the Stade de France supporting Argentina and with Red Rose fans making the trip across The Channel in small numbers only, England played in the most hostile atmosphere they have encountered at this World Cup.
Captain Owen Farrell was booed throughout and most noisily when he was lining up penalties and conversions.
“I wasn’t surprised. It’s usually like that here. When you play against France in Six Nations here, they don’t cheer you when you’re having a shot at goal!” Farrell said.
“It’s a bit different here in France to how it is over in England when a kicker’s taking a shot. But that’s what it is – just different. That’s no problem.”
Argentina head coach Michael Cheika felt that his Pumas did not get the rub of the green with referee Nic Berry, especially at the scrum.
“The game could have ended differently especially when you look at the final 15 minutes,” Cheika said.
“We did everything we could and we deserved more, both in terms of result and refereeing.
“Three or four scrums we were dominating and despite that we got no reward for it. For me that was very surprising.
“To be here on October 27 is very positive for the fans and for us. What is missing for us is excellence. It’s hard to accept losing this game and draw any positives from it.
“I believe that our trajectory over this World Cup will make Argentinians proud. We will come back stronger.”
Southgate not planning on swift return to management
Gareth Southgate will not be taking another management job within the next year, and he is unlikely to work with another national team.
Southgate resigned as England manager following the Three Lions' 2-1 defeat to Spain in the final of Euro 2024, bringing to an end an 11-year association with the FA.
The 54-year-old was in charge of the senior team for eight years and, within that period, led them to the finals of both Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, as well as the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup.
In terms of tournament performance, he was the most successful England manager since Alf Ramsey, who led England to the 1966 World Cup – their only major honour.
"Sometimes when you are in a big role you don't realise the weight until it's gone," Southgate told the European Club Association's general assembly, as reported by Reuters.
"It is one of those jobs where everybody has an opinion."
On life after the England job, Southgate was relaxed about where his next move would be. Despite that, he made it clear that he wasn’t going to take any coaching job in the near future.
"I am enjoying my life, so there is no rush. For 11 years I committed fully to the national federation," he said.
“I won't coach in the next year for sure. I am certain of that. When you come out of a big role you need to give your body time, your mind time."
Southgate has, in recent times, been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Manchester United's decision-makers having reportedly considered him as a possible replacement for Erik ten Hag.
While it is unclear how his self-enforced break from working will impact that, he confirmed that he would be open on a return to domestic football as long as the role was right.
"Club football? Depending on what role that is," Southgate said.
"I have been fortunate to have worked with fantastic players. You got to have excitement, passion to go to work every day.
One thing it seems like Southgate will not do, meanwhile, is work with another national team.
"It is unlikely to be another national federation. England was from the heart," he said
Stones relishing 'special' England moment after being handed Three Lions armband
Lee Carsley revealed that John Stones will lead out England in their Nations League clash against Greece on Thursday, with Harry Kane set to start the encounter on the bench.
Stones, who has made 81 caps for the Three Lions since his debut in 2014, will captain his nation for the first time at the start of a match.
During Gareth Southgate's tenure, only Kane (81) and Kyle Walker (70) made more appearances than Stones (68 - level with Jordan Pickford).
The Manchester City defender has become a mainstay in the England side in recent years, helping his nation to their two major tournament final appearances in consecutive European Championships.
"It's everything I could have dreamed of as a kid. More for my family, to be able to see me walk out as England captain is a special moment," Stones said.
"One I can't thank Lee enough for. An incredible moment for me.
"To be walking out with the armband on is an absolute honour and a moment I'll cherish forever."
"It was a great conversation I was able to have with John to ask him to captain the team," Carsley added.
"It's a brilliant achievement, something he deserves with the amount of caps he's got, the level of professionalism he's shown, the example he is to young players."
Carsley later confirmed Kane could still play a part against Greece and would be in the running to face Finland on Sunday.
Kane, who marked his 100th England appearance with two goals in the Three Lions' 2-0 win over Finland last month, suffered an ankle injury in Bayern Munich's draw with Bayer Leverkusen in his final match before the international break.
The 31-year-old has since trained away from the main group of players.
"Harry is nursing an injury, a small knock, something we won't take a chance with," said Carsley.
The interim Three Lions boss was also asked about the role of Cole Palmer, with the Chelsea forward enjoying a fine start to the Premier League campaign.
Palmer has scored six goals in seven games in the league this term, four of which came in a stunning display against Brighton, becoming the first player in Premier League history to net four times before half-time in a single match.
The 22-year-old leads the Premier League for the most goal involvements this campaign (11), with only Bukayo Saka (27) creating more chances in the top flight this season than Palmer (23 - level with Andreas Pereira and Dwight McNeil).
Palmer was also recently named England's Men's Player of the Year for 2023-24, and Carsley expects him to carry on his impressive form in England's next two fixtures.
"Cole is in fantastic form. He's carried that into this week," said Carsley. "Such an exciting player, a player I've worked with for four, five years now.
"Cole, along with a lot of other attacking players who have put themselves into a great position to start the game."
Root targets 'many more runs' as Cook backs England great to set all-time record
Joe Root is targeting "many more runs" after overtaking Alastair Cook as England's all-time leading Test run-scorer.
The 33-year-old surpassed Cook's previous high of 12,472 on day three of the first Test against Pakistan on Wednesday.
Root reached the mark by piling on 71 runs in the blistering Multan heat and reached 176 not out at the end of play with England 492-3.
"I'm obviously proud but still feel there is plenty more left to do, and many more runs left to get," Root is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
"More than anything, the way we played as a team is what stands out - we've got ourselves back in a really good position."
Root's 12,578 runs consist of 35 centuries, 1,355 fours and 44 sixes, coming across 146 matches.
He is now fifth on the all-time list of run-scorers across all nations, with only Rahul Dravid (13,288), Jacques Kallis (13,289), Ricky Ponting (13,378) and Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) ahead of him.
And with time still on his side age-wise, Cook has backed the man who took his England record to overtake each of those legendary names.
"I would be betting on Root to do it," Cook told Test Match Special. "I don't see Root losing that hunger and ability to keep driving himself forward for the next couple of years.
"He's just this consistent run-scoring machine. There are other geniuses who can play genius innings, but Root is a genius with consistency."
England have never conceded as many as Pakistan's 556 and gone on to take a first-innings lead, but they trail by just 64 runs heading into day four.
"We've still got an opportunity to win the game, which is really exciting," Root added. "Hopefully we can kick on tomorrow."
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