England manager Gareth Southgate has hailed his side for invoking the spirit of the 1966 World Cup winners after their dramatic last-16 victory over Slovakia.
“Before the game we showed the players the 1966 England World Cup game and how Jeff Hurst didn’t come on until the quarter-final and the difficult journey they had,” he said.
“All along, the players have been prepared, they have trained well and all the players that have come on have made a contribution to getting goals and to solidifying the team. We want to be better, I won’t shy away from that, but our spirit and our character is there for all to see and we fight.”
“Showing the players the 1966 game, it was to underline that there is a journey to winning a tournament and there are going to be unfamiliar things along the way.”
“It’s not always smooth sailing and I understand that the team will be criticised, a lot of it is justified. But I wanted to underline the value of the team and how many players have played different roles and supported each other.”
“We have a long way to go, we’re in the quarter-finals and we are going to be facing a very good team. I am sure there will be plenty of people who will still question our performance and that is understandable. But some of the great qualities that we have are getting us through and we are not going to be despondent.”
“I am very proud of the team spirit and leadership shown by the players, not just on the pitch but at the base, that is very important to us.”
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