“So Proud Of The Players” – Southgate
Written By Jacobs Dunga
England manager Gareth Southgate has heaped praises on his team after they controversially secured victory over Denmark in extra time to seal passage into the final of 2020 UEFA Euros on Wednesday.
The game was tied at 1-1 in extra time before Sterling went down under a minimal contact from Jensen with the referee failing to go to the pitch side monitor to have a review and eventually awarding what seems to be an unworthy penalty to England.
Schmeichel saved the resultant kick from Kane but couldn’t stop him on the rebound as England sealed victory in one of the most controversial fashions in the history of the Euros.
Southgate was fast to praise his players after the game. “I’m so proud of the players. It’s an incredible occasion to be a part of.
“The fans were incredible all night. We knew it wouldn’t be straightforward. We said to the players we have to show resilience and come back after setbacks and we did that.”
“We’ve had three memorable games on the bounce. We said we want to create memories for our nation. The young ones think it’s always like this. I’ve just had to tell teenagers [Bukayo] Saka and [Jude] Bellingham it doesn’t really work like this.” He said according to Reuters.
He said the boys can enjoy being in the finals but must be wary of a “massive hurdle” that awaits. They play the Azzurris on Sunday night for a claim to the coveted trophy and Southgate is aware of the task at hand.
“They’ve had it, haven’t they? There was mayhem on the pitch and I was part of it. We’ve got to enjoy the fact we’re in the final but there’s one more massive hurdle to conquer,” Southgate said.
“Italy are a very good side. I’ve thought that the last couple of years. They are in outstanding form and have defensive warriors who have been through everything. It’s a great game to look forward to.”
“Finals are there to be won. We’ll regroup and prepare properly. We need to recover tonight, it’s taken a lot physically and mentally. Italy have also had that although they’ve had an extra day to recover.”
The coach was obviously excited after they suffered defeat at the hands of Croatia in their last semi final appearance at a major tournament. “We suffered in Moscow on a night like this and we’ve managed to put that right,” Southgate said.
“I felt we’d get there but I knew we’d have a different sort of battle. Denmark are so underrated as a team and they caused us a lot of troubles.
“When you’ve waited as long as we have to get through a semi-final, the players, considering the limited international experience some of them have have done an incredible job.”
They will be hoping to emulate the feat achieved by the 1966 squad that lifted the World Cup on home soil with that being the only major trophy won by England in their entire history.
Do you have a story tip?
Kindly Email: keepup@bettitude.com
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube
About Author
