Southgate has done a good job
Since the quarter-final win over the Swiss, other people have asked, ‘Where are Southgate’s critics now?’
My response to that is: ‘Where were any credible Southgate critics before?’ A few loud voices on social media or a minority of supporters who consistently fail to recognise the peculiarities of international football – and vast differences with the club game –have been given too much prominence throughout his tenure and maybe increasingly so over the past month. Those people will not believe they were wrong unless Southgate wins a trophy.
I cannot think of one respected pundit or journalist covering England who does not believe Southgate has done a very good job, but there was certainly nothing unfair about the way England’s first four games of this competition were analysed and reported. They were not very good.
England’s display against the Dutch was a wonderful anomaly, not part of a trend. Everyone can see that and Southgate was rightly lauded for getting the big decisions 100 per cent right. That does not mean every move he made before that should be re-evaluated. Coaches, like their teams, can evolve over time.
Spain have goals all over the pitch
It is right that everyone should be excited ahead of Sunday because it looks like England may be saving the best until last – and some of the new generation of England players do have an edge to them that was previously missing. When you reach the final, it is not the moment to review what has been done to get there and start patting everyone on the back. Now is the time to seize the moment, fulfil your destiny and finish the job. That’s the winning mentality.
Many of England’s starting XI were in exactly the same position three years ago. When you have reached one final and then repeat it, victory is the logical next step.
That said, Spain are slight favourites to win Sunday’s final. They have more players with experience of winning major trophies.
Before the tournament started, there were four teams strongly tipped to win; England, France, Germany and Portugal. Spain were considered outsiders, supposedly lacking the world-class attackers needed for a balanced side. Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams have shifted the perception.
As the Euros progressed, Spain became the best team in it. They could become the first team to win every match at a Euros, with only the extra-time victory over Germany needing more than 90 minutes.
They have goals all over the pitch – nine different players have scored – and have the highest expected goals in the competition.
Spain also possesses an aura about them because of the mentality I have referenced. For them, winning is the be-all and end-all. Their recent record against the stronger nations is excellent.