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Gareth Southgate has assured England fans that his players have bought into his ideology when it comes to substitutes, after the Three Lions reached the final of Euro 2024.
England have failed to impress in most of their games in Germany, and Southgate has also been criticised for his choice and timing of substitutes. However, England reached a new level to beat Netherlands 2-1 in the semi-finals on Wednesday, with Southgate’s changes proving pivotal.
The former England midfielder brought on Ollie Watkins and Cole Palmer in the 81st minute, and the latter provided the assist for Watkins’s 91st-minute winner – to set up a final against Spain.
“Sometimes it can work that way,” Southgate told ITV after the game in Dortmund. “The most important thing is that all of the squad is ready to come into the game.
“You spend a lot of time with those lads, and their attitude has been exemplary. I’m so chuffed for Ollie.”
Watkins’s arrival surprised some fans, not only because the Aston Villa striker replaced captain Harry Kane, but because Ivan Toney seemed a likelier replacement.
“We just felt, energy-wise, we were starting to lose a bit of pressure,” Southgate explained. “Harry got that knock in the first half as well. Ollie can press well, he can make those little runs in behind that he did [for the goal].
“But also, it’s a different game. The opponent gave us a little more space; in the early games, we didn’t have any space to play.”
Southgate, 53, also suggested that reaching the Euro 2024 final is his team’s “best” achievement, three years after they were runners-up to Italy in the final of the delayed Euro 2020. That game played out at Wembley in London; Sunday’s final in Berlin will be England’s first on foreign soil.
“I think it has to be the best,” Southgate said. “It’s another landmark. The way that we played as well, we played so well throughout the game. It was a complicated game, they kept changing, we had to change how we played [to keep up with them] – defensively especially.
“But I think we caused them problems all night [...] The players made so many good decisions on the pitch [...] The end is so special for the squad.”
England had fallen behind to an early goal from Xavi Simons, before equalising when Kane scored a penalty that he won in controversial fashion.
