England manager aims to give fans a ‘special evening’
Head coach England national team Gareth Southgate shared his expectations for the upcoming final 2024 European Championship against Spanish national team.
“All the players are fit. We are looking forward to the challenge; it is obvious that the team has improved in the last few weeks. I must say that it has been a privilege to work with them. It has been a great atmosphere to work in. Now we have a fantastic opportunity to achieve what we have been aiming for.”
“We know that [победа на Евро] will mean something to everyone at home and to us as a team – not just this squad, but all the players who were involved and all the staff. They all contributed to the culture of this team. We’d like to give everyone a special night tomorrow.”
“I don’t believe in fairy tales, but I do believe in dreams. We had big dreams, but we have to make them come true. What we had, the late goals, the penalties, that’s not all. We have to perform at the level we need to. It’s our performance that’s the most important thing.”
“These are difficult nights for me [поражения в полуфинале Евро-96 и финале Евро-2020] “They were a lesson in how quickly football can change; the difference between winning and losing is so small. It gave me more perspective in life because there are things that are bigger than football. I have no fear of what might happen tomorrow because I have been through it all. I want the players to feel that fearlessness and for them to be the best versions of themselves. If we are not afraid to lose, it will give us a better chance of winning.”
Recall that England reached their second consecutive European Championship final thanks to a comeback victory over the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-final (2:1). 53-year-old Southgate became the third coach in the history of the European Championships (after two Germans – Helmut Schon and Berti Vogts) to lead his team to two consecutive finals.
At the same time, Southgate the player stopped one step away from the Euro 1996 final when he missed a penalty in the post-match series with the same Germans. And in the final of Euro 2020, the Three Lions, again on penalties, lost to Italy.
In the final, Southgate’s team will play against the Spanish national team, which defeated France (2:1). The decisive match of the 2024 European Championship will take place tomorrow, July 14, at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. The starting whistle will sound at 22:00 Kyiv time. It will be given by Frenchman Francois Letexier.
England played both of their previous major tournament finals (the 1966 World Cup and the 2020 European Championship) at home. The Berlin Euro final will be the first to be played abroad.
Source: Sportarena
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