Uncertainty surrounds Mark Sampson's future as England ponder how they go from contenders to winners

Sampson, his mind in turmoil after England’s 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands in Enschede on Thursday night, would not commit to seeing out a contract that runs to the 2019 World Cup

England could not make it to the final of Euro 2017 (Getty)

When the end comes, for a football team at a major tournament, the retreat is swift. England’s beaten lionesses did not return to their Utrecht base until the early hours yesterday, but by mid-morning the evidence of their stay was all-but cleansed.

The flags, banners and motivational messages that had adorned their training camp were gone. Only the presence of a flip chart, detailing their last training programme, remained to indicate that, 24 hours earlier, a football team had sweated, plotted and dreamed here.

The repercussions, however, take longer to clear. A fog of uncertainty swirled around manager Mark Sampson’s future as he, his players, and employers, wondered what England have to do to make that final step from contenders to winners.

Sampson, his mind in turmoil after England’s 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands in Enschede on Thursday night, would not commit to seeing out a contract that runs to the 2019 World Cup. "I haven't considered what happens next,” said Sampson.

“I want time to reflect. These tournaments are emotional rollercoasters, they really take a toll, not just on me but on my family as well. This year was the birth of my first daughter and I've sacrificed a lot and so has her mum to make sure I give my all to this team.”

England’s big improvement since coming third at the 2015 World Cup has been physical but, as Jodie Taylor said, “the Dutch matched us physically”. Mentally the team are stronger too, even if there was a hint of complacency in Enschede having seen off the old nemesis, France, in the quarter-finals.

England's plan to play long to Taylor failed (Getty)

The goalkeeping is now among the best, a reflection, suggested keeper Siobhan Chamberlain, of having full-time goalkeeping coaches both with England and the leading clubs.

However, that old bugbear of English football was all-too evident. England’s women, like the men, squander possession. Against Spain, France and the Dutch they rarely had the ball. If that was partly deliberate in the first two matches their inability to knit passes together was ultimately crucial.

The Dutch knew England wanted to play long to Taylor, so dropped off, denying space in behind. Pass accuracy had to be perfect, but it was not and Taylor was left isolated. There seemed no Plan B beyond the attacking surges of Lucy Bronze.

Yet while the Netherlands, who play Denmark in the final tomorrow, were technically superior the scoreline was misleading. As Taylor said: “It is small margins. I had a really good chance, we hit the post, there were two penalty shouts.” On another day, when not playing the hosts, those penalty claims might well have been given and the momentum swung England’s way.

Uncertainty surrounds Sampson's future (Getty)

All this and more Sampson will ponder as he reacquaints himself with his wife and baby daughter. There will be a debrief with the FA technical director Dan Ashworth. But World Cup qualifying starts next month, against Russia at Tranmere, so the soul-searching cannot be infinite. It is possible he is angling for a better contract, or alerting suitors that he wants out, but a personal feeling is he is just drained, and will stay.

He has the players’ support. Taylor said: “Mark is absolutely the right guy to carry on. He has been fantastic for this group, you have seen how far we have come under him. I hope he is still here as we have a lot more to do.”

Bronze added: “Mark will look at it, and I'm sure he'll come back more motivated than ever. This was a stab in the heart, but we've made two semi-finals in a row and I don't see any reason why we can't challenge for the title in 2019.”