Gareth Southgate believes everything is in place for England to win Euro 2024 - but warned success won't just fall into the players' laps or simply happen as a culmination of the hard work put in so far.
The Three Lions boss spoke in glowing terms of the effort the squad have put in to reach this stage to face Spain, not just during this summer in Germany but over a number of years, as well as again reinforcing his belief that the togetherness of the group has led to a gradual improvement in performances as the tournament has gone on.
However, his last public words to the group ahead of today's final in Berlin emphasised that they'd have to once more earn victory in a tough environment, despite the possible storylines and symmetries around Southgate and England winning in Germany, almost three decades after this year's host nations won on English soil at Euro 1996 following Southgate's own missed penalty.
"Look, I'm not a believer in fairytales but I am a believer in dreams, and we've had big dreams. We've felt the need and the importance of that, but then you have to make those things happen," he told media at the Olympiastadion ahead of the final.
This story is from the July 14, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the July 14, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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