Gareth Southgate delivers emotional last message to his England players ahead of Euro 2024 final as he urges Three Lions stars to make their dreams come true
- England will be hoping to win their first major trophy since 1966 on Sunday night
- They are the underdogs against Spain, but Southgate has spoken of fighting spirit
- Listen to It’s all about to begin! EUROS DAILY: How England fans will overwhelm Spanish supporters in Berlin
Gareth Southgate has sent an emotional message to his England heroes ahead of Sunday’s match: go and fulfil your dreams.
The national team will face Spain in the final of Euro 2024 on Sunday night, after a tumultuous tournament. Southgate said: ‘I don’t believe in fairytales, but I do believe in dreams. We have big dreams, but you have to make those things come true.’
‘The run we’ve had, late goals, penalties, but that doesn’t mean we’re actually doing it. We have to perform.
“When you’re trying to create dreams, you need a vision to go with it. That lights a little fire. We know what it would mean (to win).”
England have not won a major trophy since the 1966 World Cup and Southgate added: ‘We have to win this trophy to gain the respect of the rest of the football world.
Gareth Southgate has delivered an emotional final message to his England players ahead of the Euro 2024 final
Southgate led his team to their second consecutive European Championship final against Spain on Sunday
The Three Lions boss told his players to make their dreams come true by winning the team’s first major trophy since 1966
‘I used to travel to World Cups and European Championships to watch as a spectator (before I became England manager) and watch the highlights on the big screens for games we weren’t at. They only showed the finals and the big games.
“We had high expectations, but they didn’t match where we were in terms of performance. We do now.
‘Tomorrow I have no fear of what can happen, because I have already experienced everything. I want my players to feel that fearlessness… If we are not afraid of losing, we have a greater chance of winning.’
The three are competing for the second consecutive European Championship final, after a dismal match against Italy at Wembley in 2021.
Southgate and co lost on penalties on home turf and that night will live long in the memories of those involved in the future.
“I think it shows incredible consistency first of all,” captain Harry Kane said on Saturday night. “A lot of us were obviously devastated after that final, as always a long road back to get where we are now.
“All praise for the resilience we showed the boys. It says a lot about the mentality of the selection, we are incredibly happy to be in this situation and to be in a European final again. Of course we would love to go a step further than last time.”
Southgate spoke with captain Harry Kane (right) on the eve of the final in Berlin
Kane said many of the England players were left ‘heartbroken’ after losing on penalties in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley
England go into the match as underdogs, with Spain having won all six of their matches so far and the Three Lions having drawn four times in 90 minutes.
Southgate, however, has no problem with that. He is pleased that his plans have paid off so far.
He added: ‘We haven’t spent much time on the training ground but we have had several meetings to assess the opposition and work out how best to play against them.
“But our messages haven’t really changed in the six or seven weeks we’ve been together. We have a long-term vision and we’ve always broken it down into smaller pieces.”