GARETH SOUTHGATE’s rollercoaster spell as England boss has seen many twists and turns during his century of matches.
The Euros final with Spain will hopefully be his crowning glory – and what a ride it has been.
So far, he has been in charge for 101 games, with 61 wins under his belt and counting.
Having taken over in late 2016, Southgate became a national hero – and style icon with his famous waistcoat – as he led the Three Lions to the 2018 World Cup semi-final.
Three years later and he came with a penalty kick of becoming the first man since Sir Alf Ramsey in 1966 to lead England to glory.
He guided our boys to the final of the European Championship, only to suffer penalty shootout heartbreak.
READ MORE ON EURO 2024
Any dreams of World Cup glory in 2022 came to an end in the quarters.
But now it’s another Euros final, this time against Spain, in what many believe could be his last shot at securing silverware for the Three Lions.
Here we take a look at his greatest wins and most crushing defeats at the helm:
THE HIGHS…
COLOMBIA 1-1 ENGLAND (3-4 ON PENS)
This was the night that long-suffering supporters finally started to believe that it was coming home.
Most read in Euro 2024
Despite conceding a late equaliser, England held their nerve to advance to the quarter final of the World Cup 2018 on penalties.
It was our first shootout victory for 22 years.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
SPAIN 2-3 ENGLAND
Following on from the World Cup, England won in Spain for the first time in 31 years with a brilliant Uefa Nations League victory.
Southgate’s boys stunned the Seville crowd into silence with a thrilling performance that saw them lead 3-0 at the break thanks to a Raheem Sterling brace and Marcus Rashford.
Although the hosts scored two after the break, the way the Three Lions tore La Roja apart excited every fan.
ENGLAND 2-1 DENMARK
Southgate led England to their first major final in 55 years as they beat Denmark after extra-time in the Euro 2020 semi-final.
Having fallen behind after half an hour, the Three Lions battled back to send it to extra-time courtesy of an own goal.
Then it was captain Kane who converted a rebound after Kasper Schmeichel originally saved his penalty in extra-time to win it.
ENGLAND 3-0 SENEGAL
England had already blown Iran and Wales, 6-2 and 3-0 respectively, away in the World Cup 2022 group stages before they breezed past Senegal.
The free-scoring Three Lions recorded another big win to set-up a mouthwatering quarter-final against France – what could go wrong?
ITALY 1-2 ENGLAND
On a night when Harry Kane became England’s all-time top scorer, the Three Lions recorded a first away win over Italy since 1961.
It was the first game since their 2022 World Cup exit, and it ensured a perfect start to their Euro 2022 qualifying campaign.
ENGLAND 2-1 NETHERLANDS
The nation doubted Southgate’s men in the semis of Euro 2024, but they responded with a barnstorming display.
Xavi Simons opened the scoring for the Dutch but Harry Kane‘s penalty drew us level.
And Ollie Watkins slotted in a brilliant winner in injury time to see the Three Lions into their second successive Euros final.
Meet England’s Euro 2024 Wags
England Wags range from childhood sweethearts to recently blossoming love stories.
Katie Goodland (Harry Kane’s wife)
The fitness instructor has been married to the England captain since 2019 and joined him in Germany with their four children after he joined Bayern Munich.
Laura Celia Valk (Jude Bellingham’s girlfriend)
The stunning Dutch model, 25, has more than half a million Instagram followers and is said to be absolutely smitten with the Real Madrid star.
Rebecca Cooke (Phil Foden’s girlfriend)
Foden’s childhood sweetheart and the mother of his two kids tends to keep out of the spotlight, but is a regular at England games.
Dani Dyer (Jarrod Bowen’s girlfriend)
England’s most famous Wag, former Love Island winner and daughter of Eastenders’ Danny Dyer.
Iris Law (Trent Alexander-Arnold’s girlfriend)
Dani Dyer isn’t the only actor’s daughter dating an England star. Iris’ dad is Hollywood legend Jude Law.
Megan Davison (Jordan Pickford’s wife)
Megan has been with Pickford since he was 14 years old. The couple married in 2022 and have one son.
Olivia Naylor (John Stones’ girlfriend)
The 33-year-old former beautician has stepped back from her role after giving birth to a baby son.
Read more about the Wags supporting England at Euro 2024 here
AND THE LOWS…
CROATIA 2-1 ENGLAND
Having led England to a first World Cup semi-final since 1990, Southgate men made a dream start as Kieran Trippier put them ahead in the early exchanges.
But Ivan Perisic equalised as the Croats began to take control.
Some of Southgate’s substitutions were then questioned after his team were beaten in extra-time, although many gave him the benefit of the doubt as he returned a hero.
ITALY 1-1 ENGLAND (3-2 PENS)
Will probably never get a better chance to have secured a trophy for the Three Lions than this final of the last European Championship.
Luke Shaw gave us the lead after just seconds, but just like against Croatia three years earlier, we sat back and let our rivals back into it.
Leonardo Bonucci duly equalised in the second half and the game eventually went to penalties.
The unfortunate Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were all brought on to take a spot-kick, but the brave trio all missed as the Azzurri broke our hearts to take the prize.
ENGLAND 0-4 HUNGARY
A year on from the Euros and it was utter embarrassment for Southgate in this Nations League game at Molineux.
It was our biggest home defeat since 1928 and the result led to England being relegated from the top group of the Nations League and back to one that contained the Republic of Ireland, Finland and Greece.
ENGLAND 1-2 FRANCE
Another case of what could have been.
Having been free-scoring throughout Qatar 2022, many fancied us to go all the way at the World Cup despite taking on the holders in the quarters.
We fought back from going behind to level through Kane and many believe that France were then there for the taking had Southgate deployed a more attacking approach.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Instead, they seemed content with what they had until Olivier Giroud pounced 12 minutes from time to win it.
But there was still one more twist of the knife for England as the usually-reliable Kane skied a late penalty over the bar uncharacteristically as we crashed out.
Euro 2024 final stadium is home to English football’s most shameful episode
GARETH SOUTHGATE and his players will walk in the footsteps of sporting infamy on Sunday.
And they also have the chance to wipe out the memories of English football’s most shameful episode by replacing it with glorious triumph.
For many, the Olympiastadion will always be the place where Jesse Owens humiliated Adolf Hitler in his own backyard.
But the 1936 Olympics WERE used by the Nazis as pure propaganda, as a statement about the supposed supremacy of the “Aryan race”.
The ghosts of those Games still flit between the towers and the colosseum-style architecture.
Fans walking in on Sunday will see the plinth where the Olympic cauldron was lit by Fritz Schilgen – handpicked by propagandist film-maker Leni Riefenstahl – still there, high in the stands above one goal.
And two years later, when the FA disgracefully ordered England’s players to raise their arm in the Nazi salute before beating Germany in a friendly, it seemed that the British state was implicitly accepting Hitler’s authority and power.
The Three Lions have the opportunity to right that ancient wrong yet nothing can detract from the stadium’s place in the pantheon of sport’s darkest hours.
Read the full story HERE.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
