England manager Gareth Southgate has spoken about building team spirit. And the chance to enjoy making history after a difficult start to Football Euro 2024.
England will face the Netherlands in the semi-finals in Dortmund on Wednesday night as they look to move closer to winning the tournament for the first time in their history.UFABET
Pre-tournament favourites England reached the semi-finals by beating Switzerland on penalties but their performance in Germany came under heavy criticism.
In a press conference, Southgate said his players were feeling overwhelmed by the expectations and external noise during the group stage.
But he was pleased they came together and changed their attitude, thanks in part to pop star Ed Sheeran visiting the training base ahead of their last-16 clash with Slovakia.
Southgate said:
“There’s a change. One of our strengths over the last seven or eight years is less fear, less self-control.”
“But I think at the start of the tournament, the expectations were quite high and certainly the outside noise was louder than it had ever been.”
“I feel like we’re not in the right place. Ultimately, what’s impressive is that the players are finding results and finding ways to win.”
“I feel like it changes when we get to the knockout stages and of course the quarter-finals.”
“I feel like we’ve seen a better version of ourselves playing football, with more freedom. I’m not sure if the message has changed, but I just feel like the group has changed.”
“Now you’re in that moment in the tournament where it’s ‘What’s possible? What’s possible?’ rather than ‘What could possibly go wrong?’ That’s different for a player or an athlete.”
“Now is the chance to make history, which we are happy to do. It’s the chance to reach the first Euro final outside England. It’s the first time England have done that.”
“We’re trying to break new ground. It’s a difficult and complicated area, but the players have responded brilliantly. You can relate to the flexibility that’s built in.”
“We were very lucky, we had Ed Sheeran singing and it was great. The players had two or three beers before the last game.”
“You can build that kind of bond, but when you’re heading the ball out of your own box in the 92nd minute and trying to score in the 96th minute, there’s nothing stronger than that for building team spirit.”