Gareth Southgate said England can end their semi-final hoodoo by beating Denmark tomorrow’s night – and insists failure to do so would be unsatisfactory.
Since winning the World Cup in 1966, England have lost at the semi-final stage of a major tournament on three occasions, including Euro 96 when Southgate missed a penalty in the shootout.
Southgate was in charge for England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia in 2018, but has overseen more knockout wins than any other England manager in history.
“We’ve knocked off so many hoodoos or perceived barriers already and I feel like this group of players will feel this is just the next challenge,” Southgate told reporters. “I guess the interesting part for us is we won’t feel totally satisfied if it’s just a semi-final for us, whereas maybe three years ago, although there was massive disappointment after the semi-final, there was a feeling we’d come a long way.
“Now we’ve replicated what we did there, but that won’t be enough to fulfil the group. That’s a positive sign.
“The other thing that is so positive, these young players – 18, 19, 20, 21 – are getting more experiences of England that are positive and enjoyable and they’re feeling what it can be like to be in an England shirt and have fun and win matches and have a relationship with the fans that is positive.
“That’s so important for a generation to come. We’ll get more out of their talent if we can keep that relationship with the fans.”
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