England will consider Sarina Wiegman as Gareth Southgate’s successor

England will consider Sarina Wiegman as a candidate to replace Gareth Southgate as manager of the Three Lions men’s football team (Picture: Getty)

The Football Association will consider Sarina Wiegman as a potential successor to Gareth Southgate as the next manager of the England men’s football team.

The 53-year-old has transformed the Lionesses into a relentless winning machine since her appointment as Phil Neville’s replacement prior to last summer’s victorious European Championship campaign.

Only Spain now stand between Wiegman and her team becoming World Cup winners on Sunday after their historic victory over Australia in Sydney.

Wiegman is contracted to the FA until 2025, but is expected to be a leading candidate to take over from Vlatko Andonovski as coach of the USWNT following his decision to step down in the wake of their round of 16 exit at the World Cup against Sweden.

Southgate, meanwhile, is set to lead England at his fourth major tournament next summer in Germany as the Three Lions look to go one better than they did two years ago when they lost an epic final against Italy on penalties.

Whether the former Middlesbrough boss remains after the Euros remains to be seen and FA CEO Bullingham said that Wiegman ‘could do anything she wants in football’ and sees no reason why a woman could not lead the men’s team.

‘People always say it is the best man for the job or the best Englishman,’ Bullingham said on Thursday. ‘Why does it have to be a man?

‘I think our answer is always: ‘it’s the best person for the job.’ We think Sarina is doing a great job and hope she continues doing it for a long time. I think Sarina could do anything she wants in football.

‘If at some point in the future she decides she wants to move into the men’s game, that would be a really interesting discussion, but that’s for her, right?

‘I don’t think we should view it as a step up. If she decides at some point in the future to go in a different direction, I think she’s perfectly capable of that.

‘It’s the best person for the job, if that best person is a woman, then why not? You analyse the pool for any job at that particular time and do I think there’s a really strong diverse pool of both men and women for any big national job?

‘No, I think the talent pool is small for both actually. But I don’t like the mindset that it has to be a man.’

MORE : Meet Sarina Wiegman’s husband Marten Glotzbach, who will be cheering her on every step of the way in Sunday’s Women’s World Cup final

MORE : We can thank Bend It Like Beckham for the Lionesses’ World Cup success

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‘Why does it have to be a man?’