Coach Southgate's resourcefulness
England have booked their place in the EURO 2024 finals after a comeback against the Netherlands in the semi-finals. Despite conceding an early goal from Xavi Simons, Gareth Southgate's men came from behind to win thanks to the brilliance of Harry Kane and Ollie Watkins. Watkins' goal came in the 90+1 minute, completely defeating the Netherlands' efforts.
Notably, England were behind in all three of their knockout matches. Against Slovakia (round of 16), Switzerland (quarter-final) and the Netherlands (semi-final), England were behind in each of their matches. However, England came from behind to win 2-1 against Slovakia and the Netherlands, drew 1-1 and then beat Switzerland on penalties.
Coach Southgate has brought England to the EURO final for the second time
The Three Lions are the team with the most comeback wins, as well as the most injury-time goals, with Jude Bellingham and Watkins both scoring in the final minutes.
Winning once might have been a fluke, but winning three times, there's no denying Southgate's ability to manage and read the game. In the match against Slovakia, he brought Ivan Toney on at the end of the match, before the Brentford striker headed in Harry Kane to score in extra time. In the match against Switzerland, Southgate brought Cole Palmer and Toney on in the second half, then Trent Alexander-Arnold came on in extra time. These were also 3 of the 5 players who successfully took the penalty kicks, helping England overcome Switzerland.
In the match against the Netherlands, Southgate's substitutions came into play again. He sent Palmer and Watkins onto the field in the 81st minute, when the score was 1-1. Palmer then assisted Watkins to score a golden goal, sending England into the final.
England reached the final despite being behind in three knockout matches
Thus, in all three knockout wins, Coach Southgate's substitutions were effective. England did not play as spectacularly as Spain, but the "Three Lions" knew how to take advantage of every moment to win. In modern football, sometimes a moment is enough to decide the match.
History waiting for you
Whether he wins EURO 2024 or not, coach Gareth Southgate is certainly the most successful strategist in the history of the England team.
Before Southgate, England had only reached the final of a major tournament once. That was the 1966 World Cup, where the "Three Lions" won the championship. However, football at that time was very different from now, when the level of competition and pressure was hard to compare.
And when coach Southgate took charge, England turned a new page. In 6 years under the former Middlesbrough strategist, England reached the final of EURO 2020 and 2024, reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
This is a better achievement than any other English coach in history. Also since the 2018 World Cup, only France is the team that has reached at least 3 semi-finals of major tournaments (2018 and 2022 World Cup, EURO 2024) like England.

England team is bland, but very tough
"Southgate has been criticised, but look at this match, England deserve respect. Southgate's team played extremely well against the Netherlands in the first half, showing the football everyone wanted. He deserves respect," former player Alan Shearer shared with BBC Radio .
Managing an international team is very different to managing a club. With only 50 to 60 days of intermittent work each year, Southgate cannot (and is not qualified to) develop an overall philosophy for England in the same way that club managers do.
Coach Southgate is not a football philosopher like Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho or Jurgen Klopp. He was simply hired by the Football Association (FA) to coach the England team. Southgate's goal is to win every game, every tournament. The FA does not require Southgate to help England play beautifully. Because winning alone has been very difficult for previous head coaches, although England is not lacking in talent.
When developing the "DNA England" project to create a generation of quality English players, the FA outlined criteria for training and coaching young players. The focus is on desire, fighting spirit, ability to withstand pressure, and perseverance towards a common goal.
That is something England have always lacked before Southgate arrived. Currently, the Three Lions, although not playing spectacularly, are a united, versatile and resilient team. Coach Southgate has ignored the criticism to focus on his work. This is always difficult for anyone, in any profession.
After all, Southgate deserves respect.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/con-ai-che-bai-southgate-nua-khong-185240711053157917.htm
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