England coach Gareth Southgate on EURO 2020, becoming a coach and the upcoming tournament – interview
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
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"We've been one kick away from being European champions, so we know it's possible," says Gareth Southgate as the EURO 2020 runners-up look to go a step further at EURO 2024.
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England experienced the agony of losing the final of UEFA EURO 2020 on home soil, but if the experience was a chastening one, it has also given manager Gareth Southgate cause for optimism.
The Three Lions head to Germany as one of the established favourites, and while the men have not won a major international title since the 1966 FIFA World Cup, Southgate has a strong generation of players to call on.
On EURO 2020
Well, we had this strange combination of the world moving out of COVID at a similar time to the tournament. Then slowly, the momentum of the crowds getting bigger, the tournament progressing and for us, a huge game, beating Germany in a knockout for the first time since '66, so it was an incredible journey that we were all on. And, of course, when you lead your country as the manager, you're very, very proud that you're bringing everybody together. We hadn't been to a final for over 50 years.
To share that and to take people on that journey was hugely inspiring. But then, of course, ultimately, you fall just short. And your memories of that summer are tainted then by the endpoint, as well.
On playing at EURO '96
I watched the EURO in '92 on holiday and I remember thinking, in four years' time that'll be in England, that'll be something really special to be a part of and it became a target in my head as a young professional. So then, we're hosting, we're playing at the old Wembley, which before that season I had never played at.
Your best memories of that summer are the colour, the sun shining, the noise. Time gives them a slightly rosy tint because not all of our performances in that tournament were outstanding. Everybody remembers the [4-1 win against the Netherlands], but we scraped a few results as well. But I must say the connection between the fans and the team was huge and definitely the camaraderie of the team was very, very special.
On becoming a coach
I felt I'd learned a lot through my playing career, and I wanted to have a crack at being a manager, being a coach, applying what I'd learned through my playing life. And the second bit was, I wanted to help players. I felt the best coaches got the best out of me – I think I could have been an even better player – and I wanted to try and help players be the best version of themselves that they can be.
On EURO 2024
We've been consistently good now for five or six years. I think we've been ranked in the top five in the world for the last five years, so we're putting together consistently good performances. We now have experience of these really big knockout games which, I think, has helped us. Our players have got good experiences of winning at club level, so we are right in that mix of teams that genuinely feel we can win. Very often teams talk about winning, but the evidence doesn't back that up.
We can back that up and we know that we've been one kick away from being European champions, so we know it's possible. And I think, as a team, that's such a psychological breakthrough for you. But we have got one more step to take.
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