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Moscow / Vienna. Of course, "It's a special moment for us," said Gareth Southgate. But the coach from England did not want to outsmart the penalty shootout. "I think of the match against Sweden," Southgate said in the next set, after his team qualified for the quarter-finals of the World Cup after a 1-1 draw against Colombia by Penalties
. to the decisive penalty kick. On the way to the center line, the Tottenham player has accompanied 22 years of the sport's history. For so long, the Three Lions had not won shots on goal, so long as this curse had occurred, proving to be a self-fulfilling prophecy with each new start. But this time, Dier transformed.
After that, there was no stop – with the players in their jubilation and the English media. There was talk of a "The Times" after "22 Years of Pain" ("Daily Express").
Only Southgate was relatively reluctant. Although he seemed very relieved when he made his first statements after the match, he still exuded the same calm during the match and penalty shoot-out. In the process, none of his personal stories were as closely related to this shootout.
For all English kicks, he was best known: In 1996, Southgate was the only semifinal of the tournament against Germany. Finale was already very close. What the 57-time team player has done in his career has been overshadowed by this one miss. But now it's not just the player who missed, but also the coach, with whom England has mastered his trauma.
And probably the 47 – year – old man was exactly the man for his personal experience of being an English team for this Moment to prepare. Meticulously, they were addressing the subject of penalties, after each training, psychological tests were done, there were even lists, which player needed to be punished and who wanted to be alone.
England is finally euphoric. In the homeland of football, which has repeatedly and tragically failed in recent tournaments, many fans and many former players dream of the title.
A Question of Clbad
These hopes are nurtured by the fact that England has an apparently favorable draw. In the beginning, Sweden waits, and if successful then the winner of the duel Croatia against Russia. However, how much clbad England still has a mystery. The match against Colombia was – also because of the pace of the South Americans – an endurance test, in which England showed different faces. Sometimes the team went fast and had good walking habits. After the equalization of Colombia in injury time, England acted but very disturbed. However, the Southgate team was nervous again on penalties.
This should give confidence to England for the tasks ahead. Colombia played very defensively, and against Sweden while waiting for England a similar task, the game against the strong defensive Scandinavians could be a game of patience. But one thing that English actors have obviously learned from their coach: keep calm and patience. Although it sometimes takes a long time until a moment gives a turn to a match, or even a personal story.
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