A reflection on Southgate’s England: people before players

So, England are in the final of the Euros and Gareth Southgate is being praised by the nation's football pundits and fans. Popular opinion shifts quickly. Last week's pauper has become this week's prince.

England's Euro 2024 campaign has been a remarkable journey, a testament to the team's resilience. They stealthily advanced into the final, overcoming their underperformance in the earlier matches. Their journey, filled with moments of brilliance, is a source of inspiration and pride for the nation. The secret to their success? Southgate's approach of treating his squad as men, not machines.

For three games in a row, England have gone a goal behind, but each time, they have found a way back and gone on to win. It happened when Bellingham produced a stunning flying header for the winner against Serbia in their opening group game against Serbia, most notably with the spectacular overhead kick against Slovakia just as England's cases were being packed for departure. In the quarter-final against Switzerland, Saka, England's best player on the day, took the game to penalties by cutting in from the right to find the back of the net. In the semi-final, it was a ninety-first-minute winner by Ollie Watkins, resulting from a pass by Cole Palmer, a combination of two substitutes who had just come onto the pitch.