Lily Allen makes brutal Gareth Southgate joke ahead of England’s Euro 2024 quarter-final match

Pop singer and actor discussed England’s shaky performance with her co-host, Miquita Oliver

Lily Allen made a cheeky dig at England’s manager Gareth Southgate, as she and podcast co-host Miquita Oliver discussed the team’s performance so far in the Euro 2024 championships.

The Three Lions have come under heavy criticism for what many have branded a dismal showing in their matches to date.

On Sunday (30 June), Jude Bellingham equalised in the 96th minute to save England from a “humiliating defeat”, with Harry Kane scoring the winning goal in extra time.

This saw them advance to a quarter-final game with Switzerland, which will take place on Saturday 6 July.

Allen recalled the last time she was interested in international football, when Southgate “lost it for us”.

“That was the joke at the time: ‘What’s the quickest way out of the Euros? Via Southgate,’” she quipped. “Still as relevant as ever!”

Defending Southgate, Oliver said she felt he had done a “beautiful job with these boys but they have not been winning”.

“Yeah so therefore it’s not a beautiful job,” Allen retorted. “Isn’t that the point? You can’t positivity your way out of this one.”

Lily Allen had a cheeky dig at Gareth Southgate ahead of England’s quarter-finals match (Getty)

When Oliver claimed that Sunday’s match had been “great football”, the “Smile” star butted in: “Wasn’t it just one minute of great football?”

As the pair burst out laughing, she added: “I think we can rephrase it and say, there was one minute on Sunday where some great football was played.”

“You know what [England] are like though, ‘That’s all we needed!’” Oliver said. “We’re kings!”

Allen joked that she would still be cheering England on should they make the finals: “I’ll be there with my England shirt on, pretending that I’ve been there all the way.”

“I’ll see you at the pub for the rest of the Euros because you’re obviously on the edge of your f***ing seat,” Oliver told her.

“I’m such a football scrooge,” Allen conceded.

Miquita Oliver and Lily Allen host the BBC Sounds podcast, Miss Me? (BBC Sounds)

In the same podcast episode, out now on BBC Sounds and major streaming services, the duo also spoke about topics including postnatal depression, Glastonbury Festival, and Allen’s venture into a foot fetish website.

Oliver launched an impassioned defence of R&B star SZA after she appeared to draw a smaller crowd for her headline set on Sunday, following Pyramid Stage performances from fellow headliners Dua Lipa and Coldplay.

“People are just such hating bastards,” she said. “It was a huge f***ing crowd. And you know what, I think because she’s a Black female headliner, the first story they immediately went to was, ‘It was a failure, no one cares.’ F*** off, that wasn’t the truth, she did a bloody brilliant set.”

Miss Me? airs each week on Mondays and Thursdays.