Declan Rice, a midfielder for England, says Gareth Southgate should keep his job despite their heartbreaking 2-1 loss to France in the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday.

At Al Bayt Stadium, Aurelien Tchouameni handed the defending champions France an early lead before Harry Kane tied the score in the 54th minute with a penalty kick.

Long stretches of the game saw England as the superior team, but Olivier Giroud’s goal in the 78th minute gave France the advantage once again.

Then, as England continues to wait to win its first major international title since the 1966 World Cup, Kane blasted his second penalty of the contest over the crossbar.

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Rice of West Ham said the outcome was disappointing and that he thought the better team lost.

“We’ve come some so far. That’s credit to the manager, the spirit he has brought to this team, the togetherness that we’ve got,” he said.

“We weren’t over-confident. We were confident enough that we really could win this tournament and that’s the mentality England have not had over the years and I think you see that in our performance tonight.”

In addition to losing in the final of the 2017 European Championship, England advanced to the World Cup semifinals in 2018.

“I think sometimes the negativity around England will go away once we’ve won something again,” said Rice.

“I think there will always be that pressure on us but I feel like it’s starting to sway that way.

“We’re getting back to the level where people are believing in us, the country is backing us.

“For a few years it wasn’t like that so we can be really proud of ourselves as a group but we need to go again because ultimately in international football you’re judged on what you win.”

Rice said he wanted Southgate to stay at the helm.

“I hope he stays,” he said.

“There’s a lot of talk around that. I think he’s been brilliant for us. I think there’s a lot of criticism that’s not deserved.

“I think he’s taken us so, so far, further than what people could expect and tonight he got everything spot on. It’s not on him. It’s not on him at all.

“The tactics were right, we played the right way, we were aggressive, we stopped (Kylian) Mbappe… it was two goals against the run of play and that’s not down to the manager, that’s down to us on the pitch.

“I really hope he stays because the core group that we’ve got and what he’s made for us is so special to be a part of. I love playing for him and I love playing for England.”