“Our reputation on and off the field is as low as it gets right now.”
On a fateful night in Nice back in 2016, these were the words of the then-talkSPORT commentator Mark Saggers, who had just watched England crash out of the Euros in the most painful manner.
The fatal blow had come at the hands of Iceland, a country whose population was a mere 330,000 and whose football team were ranked 34th in the world.
England had been ranked tenth in the world heading into Euro 2016, but they were defeated 2-1 in a match which will go down in footballing history for all the wrong reasons.
The reaction was swift and striking.
Former England boss Roy Hodgson had resigned within hours of the defeat, announcing his decision to step down in a post-match conference.
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“I’m sorry it will have to end this way but these things happen,” Hodgson had said.
“Now is the time for someone else to oversee the progress of a hungry and extremely talented group of players.
“They have done fantastically and done everything asked of them. I hope you will still be able to see an England team in a final of a major tournament soon.”
In hindsight, one might say his words were prophetic.
A new dawn
This was the state of affairs when a 44-year-old Gareth Southgate was handed the reins of the England men’s national team in September 2016.
The former defender and midfielder had been managing the England Under-21s for three years, and before that had spent another three years managing Middlesbrough.
He took over from Sam Allardyce, who had overseen just one England game before leaving the role due to allegations of malpractice.
Southgate’s appointment was initially a temporary one, with the current boss reportedly not having wanted to take the position on at all.
But by November 2016, his appointment had become a permanent one and he had signed a four-year contract.
During his time as interim manager, Southgate oversaw four England games – three qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup and one friendly against Spain.
The first of these qualifiers was against Malta, a side ranked 176th in the world – but Iceland had proved that those kind of markers meant very little in practice.
It would be the first test of Southgate’s eligibility for the role in the long-term – and he passed it comfortably as England stormed to a 2-0 win at Wembley thanks to goals from Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli.
But the starting XI that Southgate deployed against Malta that day is unrecognisable when one compares it to the squad that has been lining up at Euro 2024.
England’s starting XI that day consisted of Joe Hart, Kyle Walker, Gary Cahill, John Stones, Ryan Bertrand, Alli, Jordan Henderson, Wayne Rooney, Theo Walcott, Sturridge and Jesse Lingard.
Only Man City duo Walker and Stones have stood the test of time, as even the substitutes from that game are all no longer in the England setup.
Andros Townsend, Danny Rose, Jamie Vardy, Tom Heaton, Eric Dier, Marcus Rashford, Michail Antonio, Chris Smalling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Fraser Forster and Michael Keane were all on the bench that day.
Many of that squad have since retired from football, such as Hart, Cahill, Rooney and Sturridge after long careers.
But Southgate’s evolution has also been a calculated one and there are some names from that squad, including Henderson, Dele Alli, Lingard and Rashford, who have fallen out of the squad for other reasons.
England qualified for the 2018 World Cup in style under Southgate, finishing top of their group and remaining unbeaten across their ten games.
And their tournament run was one which, despite ending in heartbreak as they lost out 2-1 to Croatia in the semi-finals, galvanised a lot of people.
“England are real once more,” said Saggers this time on talkSPORT. “The fans are in tears, the team are in tears but you’ve got everything to be proud of.”
The story since then is a familiar one, with Southgate steering England to the painful final of Euro 2020, the agonising quarter-final of the 2022 World Cup and now here: another final, this time at Euro 2024.
The scale of what Southgate has done cannot fully be appreciated without remembering what he inherited.
He was given an England squad in pieces – and he has built them into a team that have so far somehow justified their status as one of the favourites at Euro 2024.
Should England fall short on Sunday in Berlin, Southgate will no doubt take significant amounts of the blame onto his shoulders – despite boasting one of the best records of any England Men’s manager.
But should England do what they could not do last time around and defeat Spain, then Southgate will have masterminded an eight-year-journey which has seen England go from their absolute lowest to the pinnacle of football – well, in Europe at least.
Only the world will then remain.
talkSPORT will bring you live commentary of the Euro 2024 final on Sunday as England bid to make history against Spain. Tune in via the website or the app, and follow our live Euro 2024 blog for all the build-up.
News Summary:
- England were a laughing stock when Gareth Southgate took over before turning it around and only two players remain from first starting XI
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