‘Free Lions’ have weight lifted off them, says Southgate

Gareth Southgate says England’s stars are no longer playing with the weight of expectation on their shoulders and can approach their semi-final against the Netherlands with freedom.

Southgate and his squad came under fairly intense scrutiny after a largely disappointing start to their Euro 2024 campaign, which saw them beat Serbia 1-0, draw 1-1 with Denmark and then 0-0 with Slovenia.

If anything, things got worse in the Round of 16 with the Three Lions needing a 95th-minute equaliser from Jude Bellingham to force extra-time and then edge through 2-1 against lowly Slovakia, though there were encouraging signs as they again came from behind in the quarter-final against Switzerland before going through on penalties.

Pure emotion from the gaffer 🎥🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿#Euro2024 | #ENGSUI pic.twitter.com/zfbTeUVF2P

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 6, 2024

Quieting external noise

Southgate told a media conference ahead of Wednesday night’s semi-final in Dortmund that there had been ‘a definite shift’ in his players as the tournament progressed.

“I was really interested,” he said, “as a coach sometimes you take a step back and you observe.

“One of the strengths of us over the last seven, eight years has been less fear, less inhibition. But I think at the beginning of the tournament, the expectation weighed quite heavily and of course the external noise was louder than it’s ever been.

“I felt we couldn’t quite get ourselves in the right place and, in the end, what was impressive was that the players ground it out, they ground results out and found ways to win.”

What is possible?

Southgate highlighted the gloom on his players faces after the draw against Denmark which ultimately ensured their progress to the knockout stages, saying other nations players celebrated with the fans, but for England it was a minimum expectation.

“I felt that shifted once we got into the knockout stage and definitely in the quarter-final,” he…

Source link : https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/euro-2024-free-lions-have-weight-lifted-off-them-says-southgate/

Author : Alex Hoad

Publish date : 2024-07-10 09:59:37

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