Gareth Southgate says he is “a believer in dreams” on the eve of England’s latest date with destiny in the Euro 2024 final with Spain on Sunday.
England’s men’s team haven’t won a major tournament since the World Cup in 1966 but have the chance to end their long silverware drought in Berlin.
Southgate was part of the side that fell short in the European Championship on home soil in 1996, with his penalty miss ensuring Germany won their semi-final before going on to lift the trophy at Wembley Stadium.
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Sunday could see England win the title in Germany but asked if he believes in fate, Southgate said: “I’m not a believer in fairytales, but I am a believer in dreams. We’ve had big dreams and felt the importance of that, but you’ve got to make those things happen.
“Fate, the late goals we’ve had, the penalties, that doesn’t equate to it being our moment. We’ve got to make it happen tomorrow. It’s in our hands, and it’s our performance which is the most important thing.”
Sunday is also a chance for this generation of players to right the wrong of three years ago when England took the lead against Italy in the European Championship final only to go on and lose on penalties.
“A lot of us after that final were heartbroken with the result, and it’s always a long journey back to get to where we are now,” captain Harry Kane said.
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“Full credit to the boys for where we are now and it speaks volumes to the resilience of this squad.
“I think whenever you lose a final it’s always tough to wipe out the memory, I always try to learn from times that are tough, but lots has happened since, at club level and international level, but I’m excited to be back on that stage.
“Now it’s about executing that gameplan, it’s time to get over the line, and we have that opportunity tomorrow.”
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Southgate is keen for his team to embrace this latest in a lengthy line of big moments and not fear failure.
“Those difficult nights have taught me that football can change so quickly, the difference between winning and losing is so small, and it has given me more perspective in my life,” he said.
“There are bigger things than football. But football has given me an amazing life, I’ve travelled the world, I’ve represented my country as a player and to lead my country for eight years as a manager is the greatest honour I could possibly have.
“So I don’t have any fear tomorrow, because we’re so strong as a squad, and if we aren’t afraid to lose, it gives us a better chance of winning.”
England and Southgate have come in for heavy criticism during the tournament for the manner of the performances but have improved in recent matches with the 2-1 win over the Netherlands in the semi-final easily the best football they have played in Germany.
“We’re excited for the challenge,” Southgate added. “Clearly the team have improved over the last few weeks, shown tremendous character, resilience, they’ve been a privilege to work with every day on the training pitch, and it’s been a great environment to work in.
“We’ve got a fantastic opportunity tomorrow, we’ve been looking forward to really since we went home a bit earlier than we wanted from Qatar (quarter-final).
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“We haven’t had too much time on the training pitch, but we’ve had several meetings discussing the opponent, how best to play them, but our messages haven’t really changed over the six, seven weeks we’ve been together.
“We’ve got lots of experience in big matches now, and in these moments you don’t need to say too much to the players, it’s about making sure the details are right. Fine margins decide these games and it’s about making sure that we’re on the right side of those margins.
“It’s not just about going out and playing a game of football, on these nights, you need to make sure you do everything right.”
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(Top photo: Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
