Euro 2020: Despite final failings, Gareth Southgate and England can be proud of their journey

No, it's not coming home - that dream will have to wait another four years. But England still have plenty to be proud of after Euro 2020.

England manager Gareth Southgate (3R) applauds fans after the Euro 2020 final. (Image: Twitter/@EURO2020)
By Shayne Dias | Jul 12, 2021 | 4 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Oh, England. Once again, you leave a tournament empty handed. No, it’s not coming home – that dream will have to wait another four years. But say whatever you want about the team, the players or even the fans – there’s rarely a dull moment when the side are playing international football. The Euro 2020 final was no different. An early lead, an equaliser, 120 minutes of dogged football, a penalty shootout – this match really had it all. But in the end, it was Italy who went home winners. The English, so optimistic that this year was finally the year, are settling for second place.

But once the dust settles and the inevitable disappointment begins to quell, fans should look at just how far it is they have come as team.

Remember, this is the same England team who were renowned for ekeing through in the group stages in international tournaments before failing at the first hurdle. Or, in some cases, failing to qualify out of the group stage. Or even the tournament itself.

Yes, there are things Gareth Southgate could – and should – have done different. Or better. But, even with the last two tournaments ending in heartbreak, it is worth noting that England reached a World Cup semi-final and a Euro final.

One of those things hadn’t happened since 1990. The other had never happened until 2021.

Positivity in defeat is often hard to practice. But in this case, England have only the bare minimum to actually feel negative about.

England growing as a unit

That English fans place a lot of pressure on their football team is understandable. The passion for the sport outstrips almost anything else and they want their team to do well.

However, what rubs opposition fans the wrong way is a perceived arrogance that exists among a section of the fanbase. It is worth pointing out, of course, that the intent here is not to tar all with the same brush. But this attitude of “we invented the game so we have to be good at it” is puzzling.

Especially when you consider England’s record in international tournaments.

Yes, the sparse nature of World Cups and European Championships make it a little tougher to win. It’s not like domestic leagues, which happen every year. But even then, England are international underachievers despite their status as the inventors of the game.

One World Cup win. No European Championships. These are not pretty numbers, but they are the reality of the situation.

To make things worse, the ‘Golden Generation’ of the early to mid-2000s failed massively. This was an England team that had superstar names at every position of the field – and a few on the bench for good measure.

But, as English fans would learn the hard way, superstar names do not a team make. Especially when they play an outdated style of football that doesn’t, in fact, cater to the strengths of most of their star players.

When Southgate took on the job in 2016, he was aware there was plenty of work to be done. The disastrous Euro 2016 campaign had just ended, as had ‘Big Sam’ Allardyce’s one-game stint in the job thereafter.

The job since then is still not done but the results have by and large been good. Southgate was an unfancied candidate when he took over but has impressed so much since then that the FA are keen to extend his contract.

Players gain experience

Spare a thought as well for the English players, most of whom are still yet to hit their peak. Any championship-winning team will have a good blend of youth and experience, as well as a number of leaders in the squad.

But they will also have players with plenty of big-game experience – players who know how to win. Italy boasted the likes of Jorginho, Marco Verrati, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci – players who lead both by example and with their words. But also players who have operated at elite level for years – and know how to win big games.

England, by contrast, were shorn of two important leaders – Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire – in the group stages. It’s also worth noting that England’s biggest talisman Harry Kane has a notable lack of big game experience.

Kane has appeared in just the two Cup finals in his club career and lost them both. It is a blemish on his career, one he is hoping to rectify with a move away from Tottenham Hotspur.

Still, reaching the final and pushing the Italians to the limit is something the squad will learn from. It’s also a learning experience from Southgate, who fell short in his own ways during the final.

But was this a defeat that England should be ashamed of? No. And it was perhaps the manager who summed it up best with one line after the game.

“They have done more than more than any other England team in over 50 years.”





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