England manager Gareth Southgate has said reaching consecutive European Championship finals is not something the team is getting too excited about, with the perception of the team ultimately being decided by whether they win Sunday’s final.
England face fellow title contenders Spain in the final of the tournament, their first appearance in the final of a major tournament outside of their home country. Southgate has reached the semi-finals or beyond in three of his four major tournaments (World Cup and European Championship) but is yet to win a trophy. Southgate’s England have won nine of their 12 knockout games, including penalty shoot-outs, losing three, including the World Cup third-place playoff.
Asked about his current feelings, Southgate said: “It feels different (to 2021), we’re in a different place as a team now, having reached two finals in a row, there’s more experience. I guess there’s less celebrating when we get to a final now, maybe not the same amount of satisfaction. I’m not going to say it’s become commonplace but it’s more normal for us. That probably sounds absurd given our history.”
Southgate reminded the players that only winners write history, saying: “Yes, we had to win last time (to change perceptions) and we didn’t. We are all aware that ultimately how we are perceived will be based on whether this final is good or bad. This journey has taught me what it truly means to have a positive view of English football on the European and world stage, I know it means an awful lot to people from the youth development department to the senior team.”
Asked about his own future, Southgate said he wouldn’t discuss his future until after the final. Southgate said: “Emotionally it’s impossible to make any decisions at this moment in time because my sole focus has been on the European Championship for the last two years. The last five or six weeks have been a rollercoaster ride so I can’t promise you what my head and heart are like beyond preparing for the final.”
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