I REALLY admire the way Gareth Southgate is standing up and facing criticism from his England team.
After the 0-0 draw with Slovenia, a second frustrating and disappointing performance in a row, he could have gone straight to the dressing room and shouted and been angry at the world.
Instead, he went to the English fans, even though he knew they were far from happy.
He confronted the situation and thanked them for their support.
Although some of them threw plastic beer cups at him, many others will have appreciated this gesture.
This shows Gareth’s strength of character. Deflecting criticism from your players is part of a coach’s job – especially during a tournament.
Everyone prefers praise to boos. We are all human beings. But when that criticism comes, you need broad shoulders.
Gareth has that, as an experienced tournament manager.
Like Gareth, I have been to many important tournaments as a player and coach.
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They have a unique intensity and that’s the intensity you live for. I love tournaments just for this kind of moment.
Dealing with these extreme emotions, knowing that you have little time to change things, but always knowing that it is possible.
Every fan is so excited about tournaments that they expect you to go out and play against the other team outside the stadium, scoring three or four goals, but that rarely happens.
You have to ensure that everyone in the group, from the bus driver to the press officer to the center forward, is united in beliefs.
You and your fellow coaches need to develop a fighting environment within the group.
It’s not a “siege mentality.” This is very negative. Gareth knows the world is not against him and his team.
It’s about facing negative moments, regrouping and preparing for the next opponents.
Sure, England didn’t play well in the last two matches, but they topped the group and the draw was good for them.
I’m sure they will beat Slovakia on Sunday and once you win a knockout match the whole nation will start to have hope and there will be more unity.
Meet Germany’s Euro 2024 Wags
Germany’s Wags range from a glamorous architect to a leading equestrian and fashion model.
Dani ter Stegen (wife of Marc-Andre ter Stegen)
One of the most popular Wags in Germany, with over 600,000 followers on Instagram. She graduated in architecture after moving to Barcelona with her husband.
Sara Gundogan (Ilkay Gundogan’s wife)
The Italian model was never shy about criticizing Manchester while Ilkay was at Man City, but has changed her mind and said she misses the city since moving to Barcelona.
Jessica Kroos (wife of Toni Kroos)
The couple met when Toni was 18 and she was 20. Jessica is responsible for convincing the soon-to-be-retired German star to sign a new contract with Real Madrid at a time when he was hesitant.
Candice Brook (Leroy Sane’s girlfriend)
The American role model helped Harry Kane get used to Germany and overcome the language barrier after his move to Bayern Munich.
Sophia Weber (fiancee of Kai Havertz)
The future Mrs. Havertz began a close friendship with Helene Spilling, Martin Odegaard’s partner. Sophia recently enjoyed a hen party in Ibiza.
Lisa Muller (wife of Thomas Muller)
Lisa is a famous dressage rider in Germany and reportedly convinced her husband not to join Man Utd.
Find out more about Germany’s Euro 2024 Wags here
After the group stage, it’s time to reset. It’s like a new tournament.
Against Slovenia, England had so little space, but I was in Los Angeles earlier this week to watch Brazil v Costa Rica in the Copa América and it was very similar.
It ended with a 0-0 draw, in which Costa Rica parked the bus and hindered the Brazilians.
In the group stages of tournaments, many “small” teams will play this way.
They will sacrifice everything to defend their goal and rely on occasional counterattacks.
If you can’t unlock this compact defense, it will be a nightmare. Unless you can score that damn first goal, it will be extremely frustrating for players, coaches and fans.
It’s not just England that has struggled. France and Belgium also struggled and hosts Germany struggled before drawing with Switzerland.
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In the knockout stage it is different. Even defensive teams need to come out of their shells.
Trying to defend for 120 minutes in the hope of penalties is simply not sustainable.
When the games begin, England can thrive and a positive vibe can return.
It’s hard for fans of England, Germany and France to swallow, but the so-called lesser teams can make life truly miserable for you.
But the point of tournaments is to win – and if you win one, few people tend to remember how you won it.
There are countless examples, but I always remember Italy at the 2006 World Cup – who defeated my German team in extra time in the semi-finals and defeated France on penalties in the final.
The Italians should have lost to Australia in the round of 16, as the Australians were denied a clear penalty and scored 70 percent of their goals in that tournament from set pieces.
Southgate made strange decisions… he should have brought in Henderson and Maguire, writes Charlie Wyett
In the space of a week, we seem to have lost the Gareth Southgate who brought the feel-good factor back to English football, writes Charlie Wyett.
Here is a man who now looks haggard and bruised by the fierce criticism he has received not just at home but also from some former England players.
We live in a world where many pundits are cheerleaders, and although Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer were correct in their assessment of the Three Lions after the 1-1 draw with Denmark, it went down badly with Southgate.
The coach says he’s on a mission to protect his players from all the bullshit going around, but he also has to make sure he doesn’t lose focus.
In his eight years as England manager, he has never looked so calm in the first two games.
The mood was upbeat at the team’s European base in Blankenhain. Southgate was in good spirits throughout his media duties.
Here was a man confident in the knowledge that he had a group of players capable of winning Euro 2024.
But after the two draws against Denmark and Slovenia, his mood worsened spectacularly. He’s been through some rough patches, but none like this.
One of the 53-year-old’s greatest strengths has been his ability to appeal to every English fan and create positivity.
No fan will forget the summer of 2018, when they finally fell in love with the England football team.
However, Southgate knows he has lost the trust of practically the entire English public that supports him.
He suffered abuse and ridicule after England lost 4-0 to Hungary in the 2022 Nations League, but this is a different level.
Southgate is acutely aware of how the entire mood of the nation has changed.
In recent weeks, Southgate has made some strange decisions.
It was a mistake to choose Luke Shaw as his only left-footed defender and he is only now close to being fit.
Marc Guehi has been England’s best player in their three matches so far, but Ezri Konsa and Lewis Dunk are not ideal backups.
Southgate should have chosen Harry Maguire, despite his short-term injury problems, or Bayern Munich’s Eric Dier.
Jordan Henderson – despite not having a good end to the season with Ajax – should have been included as he would have had a month to gain speed in terms of sharpness.
Even if he wasn’t ready to start, he is a winner – as he proved at Liverpool – and would have been a constant and knowledgeable influence in the dressing room. As for Southgate’s team selections, the Trent Alexander-Arnold experiment didn’t work.
Nor does putting Conor Gallagher alongside Declan Rice against Slovenia.
While Marcus Rashford and James Maddison couldn’t have many complaints about missing, Jack Grealish should have been included, even if it was to come off the bench.
Southgate has gone too far with his mix and match. Now, he is left with a squad that lacks balance, but which can also go deep in this tournament.
Southgate needs his big players like Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and Phil Foden to play without fear.
These same players need Southgate to try not to be affected by public opinion, even if that includes some of his teammates.
Furthermore, Southgate needs to get all his team selections right. And maybe then he’ll leave the job in England on a high.
Read all of Charlie Wyett’s Euro 2024 articles.
But they ended up as world champions. he; Do you think anyone in Italy cared how they achieved this?
England have the potential to be a much more expansive team than that.
Jude Bellingham has had a few quiet games, but I’d rather see that happen in the group stage than in the knockout stages.
He is a game-changer who can conjure something to win a match in a split second. He could explode in the knockout stages.
It is certainly true that, with France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium in the other half of the table, England have the upper hand.
But don’t underestimate Switzerland, who England could face in the quarter-finals, or Austria, a potential semi-final opponent.
These two teams seriously impressed me.
They show that even without many world-class players, a team with the right chemistry and unity can go a long way.
There really are two teams to watch out for, but England know they have a genuine chance of reaching the final, however frustrating things have been so far.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
