How Gareth Southgate's street-wise England are finding a way at Euro 2024
“We weren’t savvy, we weren’t tournament wise. This group are different."
It's hard to argue with Gareth Southgate. I mean, we all try to.
"With England it was often start 25 minutes really well, get ahead in games and then out in the early knockout rounds. We haven’t always got it right. But, in general, we’ve shown the resilience that the teams that win tournaments have had for years and years."
It's amazing how quickly things can change.
Only 10 days ago supporters were hurling beer cups and making obnoxious signs at the England manager. On Saturday night I witnessed some of his biggest critics belting out "Southgate you're the one..." as if their lives depended on it.
Fickle? Yes. But with good reason.
For one, Trent Alexander-Arnold slamming home England's fifth perfect penalty was enough to spark scenes of such pandemonium in Dusseldorf and at home, that all could be forgiven.
But in the main, it is justified.
This tournament, Southgate has backed himself into a corner by unashamedly prioritising outcome above all else, serving up rancid football and holding firm in his resolve to end his tenure by finally delivering what we all crave. Striving to make good on the 2018 prophecy that, despite all the criticism and condemnation since, perhaps he is indeed, the one.
What we've witnessed in Germany must make it very hard for the most stoic of non-believers.
England are into a third semi-final in four major tournaments, and this time have got there by drawing four successive games in 90 minutes.
For a manager constantly, and rightly, labelled as negative, this is beginning to feel as though it was meant to be.
Or maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself.
Saturday was undoubtedly England's best performance of the tournament, displaying a balance that had been lacking in all four matches prior; but it still wasn't great, was it? Again, little was created prior to the outstanding Bukayo Saka's equaliser, one of just three shots on target across 120 minutes of action.
If we're honest Switzerland were the better team. Not that we care. Not a jot. It does not matter.
This has been the worst major tournament performance under Southgate, but also one of the best. The team has regressed in terms of performance but at the same time progressed in terms of delivery when it comes to the key moments.
Basically, they've been rubbish but now have their best chance of winning a trophy in 58 years. It's quite the paradox.
"England never make it easy do they?" You're right there mate. Glorious failure is etched into our footballing psyche as much as 4-4-2 and celebrating winning a corner. It's our tiki-taka, our gegen-pressing, our Samba.
It's usually preceded by an enormous emotional high, creating enough hope and joy to make the ultimate disappointment utterly crushing.
It was England's shootout victory over Spain at the very same stage of this tournament 28 years ago that triggered my love of football. A glorious failure against Germany in the semi-finals followed. Gazza's outstretched boot, Southgate's miss. A match they should have won.
It went into the annals of England footballing trauma alongside Waddell and Pearce and The Hand of God, soon to be joined by Beckham and Batty, Sol Campbell's goal that never was, Ronaldinho and Seaman, Portugal on penalties (twice), that Lampard goal, the Italians on penalties, Croatia when it was so close, the Italians again and a fortunate France.
The legacy of this tournament, whatever the final outcome, will be wiping much of that glorious failure complex away.
“Italy, France, Spain, you know, it’s not all pure football. It’s other attributes that they've had and we’re showing a little bit more of that streetwise nature," said Southgate.
"We’ve never been to a final outside of England, we've never won a Euros, so there's two bits of history we'd love to create."
England have scraped their way to the last four, and are evidently embracing it.
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