Gareth Southgate praised England for taking another step towards making history after watching his side reach the semi-finals of Euro 2020 with a ruthless 4-0 victory over Ukraine at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday night.
England will face Denmark at Wembley on Wednesday after recording their biggest win in a knockout tie, dismissing Andriy Shevchenko’s side with a double from Harry Kane and further goals from Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson. The gulf in class was enormous and Southgate was delighted with how his players grasped the opportunity to move closer towards becoming European champions.
“Teams have to go on a bit of a journey and they have to go through some pain sometimes to be able to progress,” England’s manager said. “We’ve had some great nights over the last four years but we’ve also had some painful nights and we’ve learned from all of those experiences and that’s definitely helped us prepare for another tournament.
“Moments like tonight, we didn’t want to take a backward step. We wanted to really grasp the opportunity rather than hope that we might win or let fate have a chance to play its part. And I thought the players were decisive and ruthless all night.”
Southgate warned England not to underestimate Denmark, who beat the Czech Republic in Baku on Saturday. Denmark gave England problems in the Nations League last year and have wonderful togetherness after Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest.
“They’re obviously riding a wave of emotion after what happened with Christian and that’s understandable,” Southgate said. “It’s going to be a fantastic game to be a part of. We have got more experience as a group of those sorts of games and individually the players have experienced those games, which is definitely helpful.
“We still have a long way to go and we are not satisfied. Tonight is a really enjoyable night for everybody but I’ve got to say I was already thinking about the next challenge before the end of the game. That’s the one for us – we’ve never been to a European Championship final. It’s another opportunity to make history.”
Southgate was asked whether England had ignited the nation. “I know what will be happening at home and that is great,” he said. “It’s lovely to send everyone home happy on a Saturday night – beer in hand or in the air, they should enjoy it.
“I am conscious it is not just our country that has been through difficulty but we have also had a lot of division for a little while. I know these England nights bring everybody together.”
Southgate spoke with pride about his role in reviving England, who are yet to concede a goal during the tournament. “When I look at the people who are in that list of England managers, you know, Sir Bobby [Robson] and Sir Alf [Ramsey], so many of the managers that have gone before, it is an absolute honour to be in that sort of company. I know how high I hold them in esteem and it’s great to be able to get the results that are putting our country on the football map again really .”
Maguire echoed Southgate’s call for focus. “Back-to-back semi-finals at a major tournament is a great achievement but – I don’t want to be a party pooper – we don’t stop here,” the defender told the BBC. “We’ve got a big game coming up and we want to go further this time than we did at the World Cup. This group of players aren’t settling for a semi-final.”
Kane’s double moved him one behind Gary Lineker’s record of 10 tournament goals for England, giving the striker extra motivation before facing Denmark.
The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email.
“You want to be the best you can be and try and become the best that there has been,” the captain said. “Major tournaments are massive for our country. Gary was an amazing player, a great English striker, so hopefully if I’m able to score a goal or two in the next game it should help us proceed to the final.”
Henderson was ecstatic to mark his 62nd cap with his first goal for England. “It’s about time,” the midfielder said. “It’s been a long time coming. I always felt a goal would come eventually but I always just try to contribute the best I can on the pitch. Of course I’d have liked to score more goals over the last few years, but I can’t complain. I’m here and I’m contributing.”