To say Gareth Southgate’s tenure as England manager has been turbulent would be an understatement. However, despite the divided opinions and ever-growing backlash, there is no doubt that Southgate has elevated the expectations of England’s national side to an extent many have never before experienced.
England enter the 2024 European Championships with a squad that features an abundance of talent, combined with experienced players, who have racked up some of football’s most prestigious medals at club level, since England last played at an international tournament.
The responsibility to field the best possible team will fall on the shoulders of Southgate, whose squad selection has often been criticised in the past. Having fallen short in three previous tournaments, the pressure on Southgate to deliver England’s first major silverware since 1966 is higher than ever.
It seems likely that a new manager will take over after the Euros. With Southgate’s contract expiring in December, there have already been rumours circulating about him taking over at various English clubs, including Manchester United.
When Southgate took charge of his first major tournament, the 2018 World Cup, it was a revitalised period for a team that had been under-achieving for far too long. Although England fell short, losing to Croatia in the semi-final, the country was highly supportive of Southgate- who guided England to their furthest stage of a tournament since Euro 96.
In 2021, England came agonisingly close to winning their first-ever European Championship. But, despite progressing further in the competition than they ever had done previously, this was when questions started to be raised.
Many felt that Southgate’s tactical decision to sit back and defend the 1-0 lead over Italy, rather than capitalising on England’s early goal, was the reason the victors fought their way back level. This negative appraisal intensified with Southgate’s decision to let youngsters: Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka take penalties in the subsequent shootout- all of whom missed.
Defeat to France in the quarter-final of the 2022 World Cup, exposed England’s extremely poor record against the World’s best teams and to many fans, this was the final straw.
Following this, there was critical debate about Southgate’s future, with many wanting to see a new manager take the helm for the upcoming Euros. To their frustration, this hasn’t happened, but it does give Southgate one last chance to prove himself.
Despite the increasing Southgate scrutiny. No one can question that the national side have delivered some unforgettable moments during his time in charge and today we look back at England’s top five matches under Southgate.
5- England 2-1 Croatia (Uefa Nations League- November 2018)
After a heartbreaking defeat to Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final, England had the chance for revenge on their European rivals, with a place in the UEFA Nations League finals up for grabs.
In front of a sold-out Wembley, fans were expecting a strong response from England against their World Cup conquerors. But as the game progressed, this anticipation turned to anxiety as the hosts failed to create many chances and then, fell behind in the 57th minute.
Fortunately, and unlike the World Cup fixture four months prior, England responded swiftly and superbly. Substitute Jesse Lingard poached an equaliser from a goal-line scramble and England continued to push for a winner.
With five minutes remaining, that’s exactly what they got and deservedly so! Captain Harry Kane’s desperate lunge just managed to make contact with Ben Chillwell’s inch-perfect freekick, which sent the home fans into elation.
England managed to hold their lead and went on to qualify for the final stages of the Nations League, this was made even sweeter by the fact that they beat Croatia to do so.
4- Spain 2-3 England (Uefa Nations League- October 2018)
England travelled to Seville to take on Spain in a Nations League group match, having failed to beat the 2010 World champions in their native country for 31 years.
Southgate’s side were rapid out the blocks and Spain could not deal with the constant and chaotic press from England’s forward line.
Raheem Sterling, who was suffering a three-year goal drought for the national side at the time, appeared to be a transformed player. The Spanish defenders struggled to cope with Sterling’s impressive dribbling and relentless runs in behind the backline.
It took just 15 minutes for the winger to open the scoring for England, with a fantastic strike to the top-left corner from a one-on-one scenario, after Rashford found his compatriot with an excellent through ball.
Just before the half-hour mark, Rashford turned from provider to goal scorer. Kane brought the ball down from a long-range pass from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and managed to shield the ball from the advancing defenders. This allowed space for Rashford in behind, who received the ball from Kane’s perfectly executed pass, before calmly slotting into the bottom left corner to double England’s advantage.
The home crowd were in disbelief at England’s dominance and their misery worsened just seven minutes later when Sterling scored his second and England’s third.
Eric Dier regained possession for England in the final third, before playing a pass to Ross Barkley, who scooped the ball over the helpless Sergio Ramos to Kane. At full stretch, Kane directed a right-footed volley to Sterling who converted from close range, to round off an emphatic first half for England.
In the second half, Spain did start to regain control and after 57 minutes Paco Alcacer gave the home side hope with a bullet header from a corner.
England were able to evade the attacking threat from Spain, who were continuously increasing in confidence. This was until the 97th minute when Ramos pulled back a second, but it was far too late for Spain to have a chance to complete their comeback and seconds later the game reached its conclusion and England came away with a historic victory.
3- England 2-1 Denmark (Euro Semi-Final 2021)
The prospect of advancing to a Euro final in front of a home crowd at Wembley, was an opportunity for the England squad to make history. In their way was a very well-orchestrated Denmark side, who had just as much incentive to reach the final, especially after the near-fatal incident that occurred to Cristian Eriksen during a group stage match.
After a cagey opening half-hour, Mikkel Damsgaard gave the underdogs the lead with a sublime 25-yard free kick- the first goal England had conceded at the tournament.
England were quick to respond though. Ten minutes later, Kane slotted a through-ball to Bukayo Saka, who found space on the right wing and played a low-driven cross to Sterling. Desperate defending from the Danish defenders did stop the ball from reaching the English winger, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the subsequent own goal to the great relief of the English fans, meaning it was all square at halftime.
In the second half, England were more dominant in terms of possession but couldn’t find a way to unlock the resilient Danish low block. This set up a nerve-racking finale with both teams desperate to earn their place in the final.
In the 12th minute of extra time, Sterling manoeuvred his way into the opposition box and was brought down by Joakim Maehle. After a long-awaited, controversial VAR decision, England were finally gifted the golden opportunity they needed to take the lead for the first time.
The stadium fell silent and both sets of fans watched in dread as Kane stepped up to take the resultant penalty. Kane had scored more goals against Kasper Schmeichel than any other goalkeeper in his career and, despite having been in this position dozens of times, Kane’s spot-kick was extremely poor and Schmeichel got down low to his left to make the save.
The following seconds went by in slow motion as the Danish fans behind the goal erupted with disbelief. However, the ball fell back into open play and Kane raced in to make the rebound and made sure not to squander his second chance.
England managed to keep a foothold in the final stages of extra time and got the job done in a professional manner.
Finally, after 55 years, England had made it to the final of a major tournament!
2- England 1-1 Colombia (England won on penalties at the 2018 World Cup round of 16)
After a successful group stage in the 2018 World Cup, Southgate faced his first significant test as England manager, a round of 16 tie against a Colombia side that featured many talented players from elite European teams.
During the early stages of the game, it became apparent that England were in for a very physical test and would have to withstand numerous reckless challenges and aggravating altercations as Colombia bid to catch England on counter-attacks and from set-pieces.
Ten minutes into the second half, Colombia were finally penalised for their intolerable playing style, when Kane was wrestled to the floor by Carlos Sanchez, which led to an England penalty.
Kane managed to block out the chorus of jeers and whistles and calmly converted the penalty straight down the middle to put England ahead.
Southgate’s men defended for their lives to protect their one-goal cushion and prevented Columbia from creating any clear-cut chances. This was until the dying embers of injury time, when Mateus Uribe struck a sumptuous volley from 25 yards out, in a last-ditch attempt to draw Colombia level.
It looked certain the ball would nestle in the top right corner, but Jordan Pickford catapulted across his goal, fully outstretched to make an equally outstanding save and deny the equaliser.
Perhaps it was the relief from Pickford’s save or perhaps it was the lack of experience in games of this calibre, or a combination of both that caused England to switch off for the resultant corner. But, despite keeping Colombia at bay all game, no one could stop Yerry Mina from rising to meet Juan Cuadrado’s out-swinging corner, which drew the South-Americans level.
It was this moment when many expected England to revert back to their old, predictable ways and not possess the mentality required to recover from such a crushing setback on the cusp of victory.
However, Southgate rekindled the devasted group and it was clear that this was a different England side, a side that refused to lay down and die. Despite the change in momentum, England regained control of the game, but it simply wasn’t enough to find a breakthrough in extra time, which meant the infamous return of England’s arch-nemesis… penalties!
Successful spot kicks from Kane and Rashford had the sides level at 2-2 before Jordan Henderson stepped up for England. David Ospina taunted the Liverpool captain, who went on to strike the ball at waist height to the right side of the net.
In the vast majority of cases, the ball would have curled eloquently into the side netting. However, it was not to be. Ospina pulled off a world-class save and it looked as though England’s short-lived but memorable journey was coming to an end.
Next up was Uribe, with his second chance to convert for Colombia and his second chance to break English hearts and put Colombia on the brink of qualification.
Uribe approached the ball with power in his stride and struck it right-footed with sheer force, much like his volley not long prior, and once again, he was denied.
Unlike his previous effort, it was the crossbar that came to England’s rescue, but it was the lifeline they needed, giving Kieran Trippier the chance to square it.
The England right-back had received much praise during the group stage of the tournament and his fine form continued with an excellent penalty into the top-left corner.
At long last, it looked as though England’s luck was about to change. Carlos Bacca was up next for Columbia and struck the ball left of centre above Pickford who dived low to his right. Pickford was once again to gain connection with the ball, with a fully out-stretched left arm and managed to palm it away to safety and give the match point penalty to Eric Dier.
Dier, who was by no means an experienced penalty taker or goal scorer, placed the ball down with confidence, before striking a right-footed shot to the bottom left corner. Ospina dived the right way and made solid contact with the strike, but it wasn’t enough to stop the ball from rippling in the back of the net and sending the country into hysteria.
Finally, England had overcome the curse and emerged victorious from a World Cup penalty shootout.
1- England 2-0 Germany (Euro 2021 Round of 16)
Mixed emotions followed the 2021 Euro group stage. Despite not conceding, England displayed three underwhelming performances, scoring just two goals.
The general consensus was that if England continued to play like this against better opposition, they would not pose any threat or stand much chance of progressing further.
Challenges don’t come much tougher than Germany, the country that had won six major honours since England’s World Cup triumph in 1966.
The players had become accustomed to empty stadiums due to the Covid restrictions that had caused so many complications in the sporting world. But, this highly anticipated encounter was bolstered by the incredible, electric Wembley atmosphere, which quickly turned into a cacophony of noise as the Germans enjoyed plenty of possession early on.
As half-time drew closer, England got more and more into the game. The hosts created a few half chances and came close to taking the lead right before the break. Sterling had made a run into the German penalty area and was able to squirm the ball through to Kane in the six-yard box, but Mats Hummels was able to make a last-ditch, sliding clearance as the England captain struggled to bring the ball under control.
The majority of the second half was much similar, with neither team able to provide the clinical edge over their great rivals. Then, in the 75th minute, England finally found some space to exploit around the German backline.
Sterling accelerated through the midfield as England piled bodies forward. He then played the ball to Kane who continued possession to substitute Jack Grealish. Grealish spotted the overlapping run of Luke Shaw, who drove a low, first-time pass across goal and coming in to meet it was Sterling, who had continued sprinting with intent and slotted the ball past Manuel Neuer.
It’s difficult to think of a time when the decibels in Wembley could have been higher. The English fans erupted into ecstasy and their Euro dream genuinely seemed to be turning into reality as the German players sunk into despair with just 15 minutes remaining.
Choruses surged around the stadium after play resumed, then, suddenly, silence. Goal scorer Sterling had carelessly given away possession in midfield, which led to the experienced forward Thomas Muller, being set through one-on-one with Pickford. Both sets of fans watched with their hearts in their mouths as the veteran lined up a right-footed shot as he approached the goal.
Expecting the net to bulge, many German fans leapt out of their seats, and who can blame them? It took a long moment of realisation for fans to process that Muller, who had been so reliable for club and country for many years, had wasted the opportunity.
Now, England were on the home straight and in the 83rd minute, another chance arose. Germany had left their defence exposed after pushing many men up the pitch in search of an equaliser.
Luke Shaw found himself advancing through the centre of the pitch and this time it was he who found Grealish in space on the left wing. The Manchester City winger then swept the ball to the arriving Kane who managed to adjust his body position and head home England’s second, putting the nail in the coffin.
Germany had caused England so much anguish in previous meetings, but at long last it was they who tasted defeat, as England advanced to the quarter-final stage after their toughest test yet.
One last chance
With the increasing likelihood of Southgate’s departure after the Euros, his eight-year spell as England manager has the potential to end on the highest note possible and depart with a legacy that will no doubt put an end to his ridiculed tactical decisions.
On the other hand, if England fall short again, it will be regarded as one of football’s biggest missed opportunities given the surplus of talent he has at his disposal.
