- England will look to claim a first major trophy since 1966 on Sunday evening
- They are underdogs against Spain but Southgate has spoken of fighting spirit
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: How England fans will overwhelm Spanish support in Berlin
Gareth Southgate has delivered an emotional message to his England heroes ahead of Sunday’s date with destiny: go and fulfil your dreams.
The national team face Spain in the final of Euro 2024 on Sunday night following a tumultuous tournament and Southgate said: ‘I don’t believe in fairytales but I am a believer in dreams and we have big dreams but you have to make those things happen.
‘The run we have had, late goals, penalties but that doesn’t equate to us making it happen. We have to perform.
‘When you try to create dreams you need a vision to go with that. That lights a small fire. We know what it would mean (to win).’
England haven’t won a major trophy since World Cup 1966, and Southgate added: ‘We have to get this trophy to get 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 has steered his side to a second consecutive Euros final against Spain on Sunday
The Three Lions boss told his players to achieve their dreams in winning a first major trophy for the side since 1966
‘I travelled to World Cups and European Championships watching as an observer (before becoming England manager) and on the highlights on the big screens before games we weren’t in them. They only showed the finals and the big games.
‘We had high expectations but they didn’t match where we were performance-wise. We have now.
‘Tomorrow, I don’t have any fear of what might happen because I’ve been through everything. I want my players to feel that fearlessness… If we’re not afraid to lose, it gives us a better chance of winning.’
The Three are competing in their second consecutive final in the European Championship after heartbreak against Italy at Wembley in 2021.
Southgate and Co lost on penalties on home turf, and that night has lived long in the memory of those involved in the future.
‘I think it shows unbelievable consistency, first and foremost,’ captain Harry Kane said on Saturday night. ‘A lot of us after that final, we were obviously heartbroken with the result, as always a long journey back to getting where we are now.
‘Full credit to the boys for the resilience that we’ve shown. It speaks volumes for the mentality of the squad, extremely happy to be in this situation and to be back in a European final. Of course we are really desperate to go one step further than we did last time.’
Southgate was spekaing alongside captain Harry Kane (right) on the even of the final in Berlin
Kane said a lot of the England team were ‘heartbroken’ after losing on penalties in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley
England go into the game as underdogs, with Spain winning all six of their matches so far, with the Three Lions playing out four draws in 90 minutes.
That hasn’t bothered Southgate, however, who is happy that his planning has so far paid off.
He added: ‘We haven’t had too much time on the training pitch but we’ve had several meetings trying to assess the opponent, work out the best way to play against them.
‘But our messages haven’t really changed throughout the six or seven weeks we’ve been together – we’ve had a long-term vision and we’ve always broken that down into smaller pieces.’
