DORTMUND, Germany — Gareth Southgate has finally broken the mold.
England‘S Euro 2024 semi-final with Netherlands were threatening to leave them in the style of their previous league exit since the 53-year-old coach took charge in 2016. After being overwhelmed in a first half that ended in a 1-1 draw, Dutch coach Ronald Koeman changed his approach at the break, bringing Wout Weghorstclose the gaps Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden And Kobbie Mainoo exploited and posed another question for England and Southgate.
For a while, that confused them. He had nine shots in 2-1 win on Wednesday but there were no goals from the 41st to the 87th minute. Southgate had to wait a long time before making his move.
Memories of Croatia in 2018, France in 2022 and even the previous Euro final – which England lost on penalties – began to recur as Southgate seemed unable to reverse the momentum that was slowly slipping away from his team.
His conversations on the touchline with trusted assistant Steve Holland seemed endless. No doubt other managers were more proactive, even instinctive.
But most were forced to carry Luke Shaw at break time like Kieran Trippier A groin problem ruled him out of Sunday’s final, but Southgate’s successive substitutions with just 10 minutes left were, in the end, a bold decision.
Harry Kane is England’s all-time leading goalscorer and captain, but despite scoring a penalty in the first half cancelled out Xavi Simons‘a great opener, he lost momentum, tired and was too easy to track. Southgate later suggested that Denzel Dumfries Kane’s tackle that led to the penalty left its mark on the striker.
Foden was also caught in a wider predicament but was dangerous in the first half, having a shot cleared off the line before hitting the post from long range. Both were ruled out. Ollie Watkins And Cole Palmer It wasn’t an easy decision given their reputation and status, but it was the right one.
Palmer shot wide in the 88th minute but then cleverly passed the ball to Watkins, who turned Stefan de Vrij and unleashed a stunning shot past the Dutch goalkeeper. Bart Verbruggen and just inside his right post. Causing chaos.
Somewhere in the maelstrom, Southgate responded by introducing Conor Gallagher And Ezri Konsa to see out the extra time and create more joyous scenes in normal time. After allowing his players to take the spotlight in front of the excited England fans, Southgate took a moment to celebrate heartily in front of them.
It is a campaign that has been marred by fitness issues from the start and has been heavily criticised by fans throughout. Now the beer has been thrown into the air, not at Southgate.
“We all want to be loved, don’t we? When you do something for your country and you’re a proud Englishman, when you don’t feel that in return and all you read is criticism, it’s difficult,” Southgate said after the match. “To be able to celebrate a second final is very, very special. Especially the travelling fans.
“The support we have on the road has been fantastic, the money they put in, the commitment to do it, to be able to give them a night like this — and we’ve given them a few nights over the last six years from Russia on — it means a lot. If I wasn’t on the lawn, I would have been watching, celebrating like them.
“We’re kindred spirits in a lot of ways. Of course, I’m the one who has to pick a team. To be able to give them a night like tonight is very, very special.”
England’s opening 45 minutes were the best football they have produced in the tournament. Admittedly, the bar was set quite low after a series of underwhelming displays, but they had energy and dynamism after Simons’ superb strike in the seventh minute put Holland ahead.
Kane’s equaliser came from a penalty that could only really be awarded in the VAR era, but England deserved it until the Netherlands put the game to bed, making this match similar to England’s stalemate against Denmark, Slovenia, Slovakia And Switzerland special.
“They were three-box threes in the second half so we weren’t as sharp in the second half but we kept the ball very well and made them run,” Southgate said. “Maybe that was a bit of a fatigue in the end and that played a big part in the goal we scored. There were a lot of things going on in the game. Ultimately it was the players who made the decisions on the pitch and they did that brilliantly.”
Of course, the cycle will only truly be broken if England can go all the way and win their first major trophy since 1966. This is not a seasoned Dutch side and England once again benefited from an easier half-way point. Final opponents Spain looks set to give England their toughest game this summer.
Southgate was asked about the prospect of beating Spain. “We’ll have to take the ball away from them first,” he began his reply.
But struggled to find answers throughout the tournament — changing Declan Rice‘s midfield partner three times, switching the system from a four-man defence to a three-man defence — Southgate delivered the game-changing moment when it really mattered.
Maybe just once. His critics will remain, despite the current tournament record: semi-final, final, quarter-final, final. But now England are in a position where Southgate needs just one more to achieve immortality.
