Gareth Southgate, the manager tackling England’s fear of failure

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On the night of June 30, the ghosts that long haunted English football were looming inside Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins Arena. One nil down to lowly Slovakia in a knockout match, the star-studded team looked overcome with fear. The new generation, who began the Euro 2024 tournament as favourites, was no longer unshackled from past failures. Still, England manager Gareth Southgate had faith: stay calm, be patient, hold your nerve. 

Then, with just 26 seconds left on the clock, something remarkable happened. Jude Bellingham adjusted his body as the ball floated in from a long throw-in and unleashed a spectacular overhead kick that sent the ball flying into the Slovakian net and led to extra-time victory for England.

“I had belief right the way through that we would get that goal,” said Southgate in his post-match press conference. “We’re somehow finding a way.”  

The goal saved England’s tournament. But it also patched up the fraying relationship between Southgate and an increasingly unhappy fan base. After a penalty shootout win over Switzerland and an injury time victory against the Netherlands, Southgate’s men are now facing their second major final in three years, and their first on foreign soil. No other England manager in the history of men’s football can claim such a record. On Sunday, he could go one better.  

Southgate, a former England player, became manager when the team was at its lowest ebb. A humiliating defeat at the hands of Iceland in Euro 2016 shattered the nation’s love for the Three Lions. Southgate, who had been coaching the under-21 team, was sent in to pick up the pieces while the Football Association figured out a long-term plan. Eight years later, he’s still there. 

As a veteran of past heartbreaks — he missed a crucial penalty as a player in the Euro 1996 semi-final — the new coach had one guiding principle: to make players enjoy representing their country. The shirts, he said, had grown too heavy, the pressure too great. England players were going into tournaments seeking only to avoid becoming tabloid scapegoats for inevitable failure. Success had become physically, mentally and culturally impossible. The team’s muscle memory needed to be reset.

Southgate brought in sports psychologists to help. Bonding sessions got equal billing to training sessions. Words like “togetherness”, “resilience” and “spirit” joined the English football lexicon.

This touchy feely approach was rooted in science. Southgate obsessed over data and sought lessons from other high performers, from rugby coach Eddie Jones to Toto Wolff of Mercedes Formula One. 

At Euro 2024, England’s penalty shootout victory over Switzerland in the quarter-final came from meticulous preparation, both mental and physical. Southgate and his players talk about past defeat as an opportunity to grow.

“You can fail once but you have a choice whether you put yourself in that position again or not,” said player Bukayo Saka, who missed his penalty in the final of Euro 2020 but scored against the Swiss. “I believed in myself.” 

Two years after Southgate took over, England reached a World Cup semi-final for the first time in almost three decades. He became the standard-bearer of progressive patriotism. In 2021, he made his case in an essay entitled Dear England. “I have never believed that we should just stick to football,” he wrote. “I understand that on this island, we have a desire to protect our values and traditions — as we should — but that shouldn’t come at the expense of introspection and progress.”

Southgate’s inclusive stance — he supported players who took the knee and donned rainbow armbands — made him a target for some in the former Conservative government and elsewhere, who accused him of indulging in “gesture politics”. 

For others, however, the bookish, working-class boy from Crawley was an inspiration. His experience as manager was adapted into a critically-acclaimed play — also called Dear England — which debuted last year, and is now being made into a TV show for the BBC. Its writer James Graham still hopes for a happy ending. 

Even so, Southgate’s reputation hangs on results. As expectations have risen, so have criticisms of his perceived tactical shortcomings, excessive caution and overreliance on moments of individual brilliance — or sheer luck — to get the team over the line. England have twice been booed off the pitch during Euro 2024 as fans vented their frustrations at poor performances. 

“When you’re doing something for your country, and you’re a proud Englishman, when you don’t feel that back and when all you read is criticism, it’s hard,” Southgate said after England’s last gasp semi-final win over the Netherlands. “We all want to be loved, right?”

The 91st minute winner from striker Ollie Watkins — brought on late in the game by Southgate — instantly silenced the critics, and now focus is on what comes next. A statement went out from Buckingham Palace sending congratulations to the team and a request ahead of this weekend’s final. “If I may encourage you to secure victory before the need for any last minute wonder-goals or another penalties drama,” wrote King Charles, “I am sure the stresses on the nation’s collective heart rate and blood pressure would be greatly alleviated!” 

History suggests that this is not how Southgate’s team operates. Spain is tipped to win. But somehow, maybe, England will still find a way.  

josh.noble@ft.com