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Final a chance for Gareth Southgate to finally earn some respect – but are England up to beating Spain?

Final a chance for Gareth Southgate to finally earn some respect – but are England up to beating Spain?
Jude Bellingham of England runs with the ball whilst under pressure from Jerdy Schouten of the Netherlands during the UEFA EURO 2024 semi-final match between Netherlands and England at Football Stadium Dortmund on July 10, 2024 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Yanga Sibembe
By Yanga Sibembe
12 Jul 2024
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England mentor can silence his critics if he and his fellow Englishmen win the trophy on Sunday.

For the longest time, England mentor Gareth Southgate has been a polarising figure. At least as a manager.

As a player, Southgate represented teams such as Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, and Middlesbrough. He was not a Bobby Moore, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand or Sol Campbell when it came to defending. Instead, Southgate was a hard worker, with tons of leadership qualities to accompany his decent defensive work.   

At international level, the defender (who moonlighted as a midfielder) made more than 50 appearances for England.

Coincidentally, he was part of the English national team that was defeated by Germany 6-5 on penalties when England hosted the 1996 European Championship. He was the only one to miss his spot kick, thus denying his country a first final appearance at a major tournament since they had won the 1966 Fifa World Cup.

Since that occasion, England had struggled to live up to expectations at international tournaments, despite the English Premier League being one of the most loved and followed domestic leagues in the world.

That is, until Southgate stepped in. The 53-year-old was appointed the manager of the senior men’s English side towards the end of 2016, succeeding Sam Allardyce.

At the time his only managerial experience was from coaching Middlesbrough for three years. Even there he had been parachuted straight into the dugout immediately upon his retirement as a player in 2006. This despite not having the required qualifications.

England's Jude Bellingham under pressure from Jerdy Schouten of the Netherlands during their Uefa Euro 2024 semi-final match in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)



Nevertheless, the Middlesbrough hierarchy pleaded with the country’s soccer authority, the Football Association (FA), to make an exception and let Southgate sit in the dugout until the point where he had all the required documentation. The FA relented.

During his three seasons with the club, he finished in the bottom half – recording 12th and 13th placings. In 2009, Boro and Southgate were relegated to the Championship after finishing second from bottom in the Premier League. In the same year, he was fired as the club’s manager.

After four years without a job, Southgate was appointed as England U21 manager. He had mixed results and no major tournament success. Then three years later, he was appointed as England’s senior manager when Sam Allardyce vacated the position.

He has not looked back. At the 2018 World Cup Southgate guided his team to the semifinals, the first time they had reached this stage of an international soccer spectacle since his fateful penalty miss at Eur0 1996.

Then two years later, at Euro 2020 (delayed by a year due to Covid-19) Southgate engineered England’s first major final appearance since the 1966 World Cup. Surpassing great managers such as Sven-Göran Eriksson and Italian great Fabio Capello.

They were defeated 3-2 on penalties by Italy in the final of the previous Euros, with Southgate narrowly missing out on rewriting English soccer history.

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Yet, here they are again. However, criticism of Southgate still persists. He has been accused of not being great enough to manage world-class players such as Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka – something that Southgate recently admitted hurts him.

“When you’re doing something for your country and you’re a proud Englishman… When you don’t feel that back and when all you read is criticism, it’s hard,” Southgate said.

To be fair to his critics, England’s star-studded side has limped its way to the Euro 2024 final. The team’s only convincing display of the tournament came in their 2-1 defeat of Netherlands in the semifinal. Spain will be a different prospect, though.            

“They would be rightly favourites for what they have done this tournament,” Southgate said of the Spaniards. “They have been the best team.

“They are a bloody good side. Let’s pitch it right. We have got to be perfect to win this game, and we will have to find everything that we have got from within us.”

Maybe with a surprise victory against a Spain side that has excelled and won all its games so far at this tournament, Southgate would finally earn some respect. DM

Euro 2024 final


England vs Spain – Sunday, 14 July (9pm)

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