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With the old nemesis Germany finally defeated, the Southgate team have a golden opportunity to raise england first major international trophy since the 1966 World Cup.
England’s cathartic round of 16 victory over the Germans in tumultuous Wembley on Tuesday was a historic moment after decades of misery at the hands of Die Mannschaft.
Eliminated from 1970, 1990 and 2010 World Cups by Germany, who also beat them in the Euro 96 semi-finals, England kept their cool in a tense clash as goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane in the second half sent Wembley to the ecstasy.
But as English fans have bellowed ‘Football is coming home’ to celebrate the long-awaited victory, Southgate knows the night to remember will matter little if they don’t win the tournament.
“It didn’t really need me to say it, but when we walked into the locker room we were already talking about Saturday,” Southgate said.
“It was a huge performance but at a cost, emotionally and physically, and we have to make sure that we are recovering well and that mentally we are in the right space.
“It’s a dangerous time for us. We’ll have that heat of success and a feeling across the country that we just have to come and win it.
“We know it will be a huge challenge from now on. I think the players know that.”
The draw is off to a good start for England, who will be favorites to beat Ukraine in Rome on Saturday.
Ukraine, who beat Sweden 2-1 after extra time on Tuesday, has won only one of their seven encounters with England.
If England reached the semi-finals, they would face Denmark or the Czech Republic in front of another partisan crowd at Wembley.
“I’ve been here with a packed house and haven’t heard it anywhere near the crowd-run levels today. The energy was incredible in the stadium,” Southgate said.
– ‘Write history’ –
With the final also at Wembley it’s the chance of a lifetime for England, but the same was said in 2018 when they beat Sweden in the World Cup quarter-finals, before s ’tilt against Croatia in the last square.
Southgate believes the painful experience in Russia three years ago has been a valuable lesson for England.
“They’ve been to the last stages already, they know how difficult it has been, so they have their feet on the ground,” he said.
“They should feel confident with the way they played and the manner of the performance.
“But of course we came to the tournament with an intention and we haven’t gotten to it yet.”
If England are to finally end their 55-year wait for silverware, it will be their superbly organized defense that will provide the foundation.
England are just the second team in European Championship history to not concede any of their first four games of the tournament.
The only time England made it in a major tournament was on their way to winning the 1966 World Cup.
Southgate went from a four-way defense to a three-way defense to nullify Germany’s forces and the bet was won, with Harry Maguire giving an imposing display to prevent Germany from banking on his lively departure.
England has developed a welcome habit of killing old demons under Southgate.
They won a rare shootout against Colombia in the 2018 World Cup and now they’ve ignored their German curse.
But Southgate is keen to ensure that its players are not yet resting on their laurels.
“We know there have been questions about us against big teams,” Southgate said.
“We will always have passion and heart, but we played with brains today. It was a real step forward for us.
“I know what we set out to achieve. These players continue to make history and they have the opportunity again.
“We’ve only been to one semi-final of the European Championship. They can do something really special.”
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