It felt like chaos in the tunnel of the Westfalenstadion on Wednesday evening.
Support staff loaded equipment onto the teams’ coaches as they sat idle on the concrete, camera crews rushed back and forth and Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk stood grim-faced in front of a crowd of reporters as he answered questions about the disappointment of losing to Ollie Watkins’ brilliant winner.
At the end of the tunnel, groups of England supporters stood with their faces pressed against the thick bars of the steel barriers, just as their team had pressed their faces against the glass at this tournament during the first five games, trying to catch a glimpse of where all the action was taking place.
Catering staff clattered past, pushing empty metal trolleys and occasionally fans broke out into song as they planned their journey to the German capital. England will be looking to end 58 years of injury woes in Sunday’s final against a fantastic Spanish team, who have been the best team in the tournament so far.
“Don’t take me home, please don’t take me home, I just don’t want to go to work,” they were screaming. “I want to stay here and drink all your beer, so please don’t, please don’t take me home.”
Gareth Southgate has led England to a second successive European Championship final to silence his doubters
Ollie Watkins’ late winner ensured it was another magical night for England under Southgate
The fans indicated that they do not want to go home, because they still have a final to face
After a while, Gareth Southgate emerged into this scene of industry and tumult and delight and misery, walking down the line behind a cordon to talk to English reporters. There was something different about the England manager. There was a lightness in his step. Southgate had been under siege and now he looked like a man lifting a siege.
There hasn’t been a great deal of levity about Southgate in this European Championship, because England’s game has not really lent itself to levity. But that changed dramatically in his team’s latest victory over the Dutch, and Southgate’s behaviour reflected that.
Suddenly, there is vindication and relief among his companions. He even laughs at one point. That too is rare, as he has tried to deal with the avalanche of opprobrium that has been thrown his way in recent weeks, particularly by big-name broadcasters such as BBC chief presenter Gary Lineker, and by idiots on social media. He has tried to shield his players from the worst.
Perhaps Lineker will apologise at some point for calling the England team s*** after their performance against Denmark in the group stage. He should. Neither Southgate, nor captain Harry Kane, nor any England player should be above harsh criticism, but that kind of language, that kind of mockery, made the atmosphere against the team poisonous.
It was no coincidence that plastic beer cups were thrown at Southgate in the next match, against Slovenia in Cologne, after England had secured top spot in the group with a draw.
Lineker was playing into the mob with that comment. He and a whole bunch of other screaming, laughing, giggling, snickering football celebrity podcasters are climbing over each other in their desperation to reach the top of a mountain of nonsense that is their idea of entertainment by making increasingly outlandish statements. They are competing in a soundbite arms race.
Gary Lineker called England ‘s***’ on The Rest Is Football podcast earlier in the tournament
Southgate had to swallow the criticism head on as his team struggled in the early stages
Calling an England team that has reached two finals and a semi-final in their last four tournaments s*** might have seemed like a good way to go viral at the time. Now, Lineker seems a bit foolish. He aimed his insults at what has become the first England men’s team to reach the final of a major tournament abroad.
It took a long time for the clouds raised by those comments to lift, but now they have. It feels like the pressure is off. England have defied their critics by simply reaching the final, and now that they are there, no one really expects them to beat the brilliant Lamine Yamal and his team-mates.
England go into Sunday’s match at the Olympiastadion as a team that has been liberated. They have been freed from the yoke of public opinion. And now they are starting to play like the team we hoped to see when they arrived in Germany just over a month ago.
“When we have the fans around us, as we do now, the energy that brings and the cheer that brings is massive,” Southgate said.
England are performing at the right time, but Southgate laughed when someone suggested that his team might have an advantage over Spain because of the experience of all the adversity England have overcome.
“They’ve won a few trophies, so…” Southgate said, ending his answer with a broad smile.
“Spain are rightly favourites for what they have done in this tournament. They have been the best team. They have one more day to prepare for the final and in the last three finals, maybe more, that has been quite significant, so we have to make our recovery perfect.
“Look, we’re doing well, but they’re a bloody good team. Let’s throw it well. We have to be perfect to win this game and we’re going to have to find everything we have. But we’re there.
The Three Lions have come roaring back to secure their place in Sunday’s final
Southgate has proven he knows what he’s doing, ridiculed Lineker and other inflammatory podcasters and is now just one game away from making more history
‘A lot of players from this group have been together for a while and this new group, which is so well formed, has already learned so much from these six games.
“And we have players who have played a lot of big games, so they know what is needed that night. If it was needed, they were all ready.”
When another question offered him the chance to claim personal satisfaction from beating the Dutch and qualifying for a second successive European Championship final, Southgate didn’t take it. He’s smart enough to know he didn’t need to. Wednesday night brought him to a point where his results can speak for themselves.
So England finally come to Berlin on Saturday with the wind at their backs and the feeling that, after surviving so much, after watching elimination time and time again with a steely eye, anything is possible. Even against Spain.