LONDON - Gareth Southgate's biggest test as England manager ended with a result that could redefine how the country sees itself in major tournaments, in the round of 16 at Euro 2020 on Tuesday. beating Germany 2–0 and ending Joachim Low's time in charge. Nationalmanshaft.
The Three Lions may have reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 under Southgate, but they did so without defeating any elite nation and succumbed to what was arguably the first proper test, losing to Croatia in extra time. The biennial disappointment is woven into the fabric of England's sporting consciousness, an inferiority complex built over decades that has previously manifested itself in a fear of failure, fatigue and hopelessness.
England had never won a European Championship knockout match in the 90 minutes before Tuesday. Southgate was determined that this young squad would not be burdened by history, but would be inspired to make their own. And he was right.
This is a team from Germany that is clearly short of a typical vintage, but they are a four-time World Cup winning nation. No country has won more than three European Championships, taken at home in 1972, 1980 and 1996.
They have a tournament pedigree that England has never been able to replicate, often falling straight short at the hands of Tuesday's opponents. Beaten by Germany in 1970, 1990, 1996 and 2010, they are responsible for more psychological football trauma in England than any other nation.
not anymore. In this unfavorable fixture, Germany goes from Möller to Müller: Andreas Möller broke English hearts with his winning penalty when these teams were torn apart by a shootout in the semi-finals of Euro 96, but here on Thomas Müller's clean. After firing wide, he fell to his knees. With the goal at their mercy and only 1-0 on the side from Joachim Low.
England have defeated their arch-rivals in a knockout match for the first time since winning the 1966 World Cup final. Incidentally, it is also the first time since that win that England have kept four clean sheets in their first four matches in the final.
But this is also a big win for Southgate. Twenty-five years after missing the deciding penalty in that Euro 96 shootout, he has masterminded a breakthrough that is a major step forward in his task of ending his 55-year wait for tournament glory. As much as he passed plaudits on his players, it must have been felt, in part in the context of his personal history, but also in his desire to feel "outside support" – as he said – if that is 2022. Accept an imminent contract extension offer from the Football Association to stay ahead of the World Cup.
"We are playing a team with four World Cup winners, a manager who had an incredible career - I didn't get a chance to congratulate him earlier because I know tonight will be a tough night - but he has had an incredible career for Germany. Along and I have a lot of respect for him," Southgate said of Germany and Lou. "So, we know that after the World Cup there have always been questions about us going against a big team, a big nation and Germany, with their experience today, we knew they could set the pace of certain parts of the game. do.
"We know [Tony] Kroos will organize the game and [Matts] Hummels, we have to be patient. So what pleased me the most was that we will always have passion and heart, but we still played with our minds and hearts. We put pressure at the right moments. We wanted to be aggressive for every man under our pressure, the wing-back did well and set the tone. The forward picked the right moments to go and stay and then we found brave with the ball There's a good balance of having at times to keep our parts occupied as well as early and counter. It was a real move for us."
Southgate found that support in organizing this victory. These finals are such a combination of caution affecting the selection of each team and the plethora of attacking talent at their disposal. Every team he has picked is greeted with trepidation in the dark corners of social media.
Matching Germany's shape of 3-4-3 was always likely to create a tough case, as we have seen elsewhere in the last-16 stage, but it helped give England security in the central regions. Not that it appeared so early. Declan Rice was booked for eight minutes as Leon Goretska threatened to burst through England's back line.
Germany set the opening pace as England chased down the shadows, but Southgate is well aware of how individual errors in previous tournaments have reduced their chances. By minimizing risk, the 50-year-old is trying to minimize those moments of misfortune.
It's not always beautiful. Raheem Sterling stung Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer's fingers with a curling shot from the edge of the box and Harry Maguire led a Kieran Trippier cross over the crossbar, but Bukayo Saka put his age and inexperience on hold. Injecting fresh momentum, England earned precious little by then. Half-time stroke.
Stirling intercepted a poor pass from Mueller and moved on. The ball started going in the way of Harry Kane. Instead of shooting with his left foot at first, as the situation clearly dictated, he tried to work the ball with a heavy touch on his right foot, and the chance was gone.
As Saka faded in the second half, England were dependent on Sterling to add to the game by leading the team. Jack Grealish replaced Saka to assist him, and England eventually moved the ball at enough speed to cause problems for Germany.
Sterling exploded into the field from the right and found Kane, who dropped the ball to Grealish. He helps in the dismissal of Luke Shaw on the left wing. Shaw crossed low and Sterling continued his run to complete the delivery, side-footing for his third goal in four games. He is very important to this team.
England ended the game with four minutes remaining as Grealish crossed for Kane to go home and break his duck, but not before riding his luck in remarkable fashion. Sterling delivers the ball to Kai Havertz, who releases Mueller to run through goal, yet seemingly unavoidable: Mueller shot wide, England capture their thin lead and eventually extend it. gave.
Germany has often been hailed as a team with structure that exceeds the sum of their parts, while England - exemplified by the so-called "Golden Generation" of Premier League stars famous from 15 years ago - fail as individuals. Have never been in a team. Southgate is changing that.
It should be noted that England had the advantage, not just a 45,000-strong crowd, but a full week to prepare for the change in their system - a day longer than their opponents. Saturday's quarterfinal in Rome will deprive him of home support and a long recovery time.
Yet they are more practical and organized than anyone anticipated, exemplified by the Rice-kalvin Phillips axis in midfield, a conservative central pairing but one that exemplifies Southgate's desire for undue risk aversion control. Both tried to take the yellow card throughout the second half; In fact, Phillips won 11 possessions, the most by an England player in the Euros since Tony Adams (13) in 1996, that too against Germany.
Southgate was, of course, the unfortunate villain of that fateful night, forever defined by his place on the list of the England team's disappointment. Maybe that's changing too.