At such a tournament, it is important to be a family. Even the wives of the players have made a huge contribution – Sports Mail.Ru

– You are only the third coach in the history of the England team, who managed to get the team to the semi-finals of the Cup of Nations. world. What does this mean for you?

– It is a great honor for me to be a coach from England. And to become the third in history, which brought the team to the semifinal … It's pride. True happiness. I have talked a lot with the players before the game. Nobody was ready to go home. Well, we will be delayed now in Russia for a week!

We are a team that continues to progress . Everyone works 200%. Without work, England will never succeed. Rose, Cahill, Jones, Welbeck … All these talented players play little, but they do everything for the common success, they support us. That's the reason for success. We have an incredibly friendly team, one team. A team of real fighters and hard workers. Yes, we do not have many world clbad players. But we have young people who can become them. And have already shown at the highest level – the World Championship.

– Against Sweden it was very difficult?

– Of course. Sweden beat France in the qualifying phase. This same France, who is already in the semifinals. In addition, Sweden has deprived Italy of the World Cup. Sweden then left Germany behind in the group. How can we call him a weak rival after that? It's a very strong team. It was hard for us. We knew it would be difficult. But England deserved to win 100%

– How do you evaluate the contribution to Pickford's victory?

– He is an almost perfect goalie according to his data. For me, it's a sample of the modern goalkeeper. Pikford reads the game very well, reacts to the situation, is mentally strong and feels confident to begin the attack with his feet. How many cool programs today in the right areas he gave! I am happy that England has such a goalkeeper.

– Maguire became the author of the winning goal. Are you satisfied?

– I have always believed in him. Even when he did not believe in himself. I remember, in the first match of the national team against Moldova, Harry was very scared. He said that he only thought of one thing: "If only you do not make mistakes, do not make mistakes" … I replied: "Play like you can!". Since then, he has become a different player. Not only chic, but dominant. Both in defense and in attack. Maguire proved that he was ready to play at the highest level

– who do you want to express your gratitude until now?

– You can not even imagine how grateful I am … Everyone in the national team. For all players. It's an honor for me to work with such talented and intelligent guys. At the same time, I say thank you, for example, Lallana and Livermore, who trained with us before the 2018 World Cup, but therefore, they did not come to Russia. I say thank you to Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was to play in this tournament, but was injured. I say thank you to Hart, who made an excellent rescue in the match with Slovenia in the selection. I remember everything – and I appreciate every person who has helped and helped this team from England. At such a tournament, it is important to be a single collective, a family. And we succeeded

– What does it mean for you personally to enter the semifinals?

– These are the best days of my coaching job. But, I repeat, first, we continue our journey. And, secondly, the speech can not be conducted only on me. We must talk about the whole team! Even the wives of football players who came to Russia to support their husbands made a huge contribution.

Mikhail GONCHAROV of Samara.