Gareth Southgate's England journey as the Three Lions approach another final
The manager has experienced many highs and sunk to a few lows throughout his nearly eight-year tenure, and now he has the chance to cap it off with his nation's first major trophy in over 50 years.
With a wonderful journey approaching the ultimate climax, Flashscore has decided to look back at the defining moments from Southgate's 101 games as England boss and the long journey to another shot at glory.
From history-making moments to fan base-splitting decisions, here is Southgate's story at the helm of the Three Lions.
A controversial appointment
Southgate's time as England manager started almost by accident, replacing Sam Allardyce after the latter left by mutual consent following a controversial undercover operation by British journalists.
The ex-West Ham boss was infamously caught on camera explaining how to get around third-party ownership rules and making fun of former manager Roy Hodgson.
His quick dismissal led to the appointment of Southgate - then part of the youth coaching set-up - on an interim basis while the FA began the hunt for a permanent manager.
Despite his temporary role, a good run of results, including a 3-0 win against Scotland and a 2-2 draw with Spain, would see him become boss full-time.
Upon taking the job, Southgate said: "I am extremely proud to be appointed England manager. However, I'm also conscious that getting the job is one thing, now I want to do the job successfully.
"I'm determined to give everything I have to give the country a team that they're proud of and one that they're going to enjoy watching play and develop. For me, the hard work starts now."
Nearly eight years later, the former Crystal Palace and Aston Villa defender is one step away from achieving greatness - and has certainly created a team the nation is proud of.
Penalty shootout history
After a steady qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup that saw England top their group without losing a game, the Three Lions headed to Russia for Southgate's first major tournament in charge.
His debut tournament went rather well in the group stages, and a second-place finish behind Belgium - one of the favourites for the trophy at the time - set up a round-of-16 clash with Colombia.
A cagey affair ended 1-1 after extra-time which meant England faced another penalty shootout at a major tournament, bringing back a few too many bad memories for supporters.
What happened next would be etched into the history books for years to come.
Up until that point, the Three Lions had lost their last five shootouts and pretty much no one expected anything different this time around, as was the way of being an England fan at the time.
Even during the spot-kicks, there was a feeling of doom as Colombia had the chance to win it after Jordan Henderson missed his penalty.
But a new level of resilience has been shown across Southgate's time as manager, and it first reared its head against the South Americans back in 2018.
Some good fortune came their way as Mateus Uribe's shot cannoned back off the bar, but goalkeeper Jordan Pickford fully turned the tide with an excellent stop against Carlos Bacca - the Everton stopper one of many players making their tournament debut alongside the manager that would go on to become England stalwarts over the next six years.
Eric Dier then converted the winning penalty, sending the nation wild and marking a turning point in the fans' belief surrounding their country - proving to be the start of a particularly strong liking towards Southgate.
Uniting a nation at Euro 2020
England's good form under Southgate would continue with only five defeats in three years following the 2018 World Cup, leading to supporters getting very excited ahead of a delayed Euro 2020 tournament.
Despite performing well on the pitch, the nation as a whole had been divided for the better part of a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and needed a serious lift heading into the summer of 2021.
England offered just that with some excellent performances, beating Germany and Denmark in the knockout stages to provide supporters with a much-needed release of the frustration that had been building for so long.
The Germany result, in particular, marked an iconic point in Southgate's tenure. Winning such a big match on home soil sent the nation into a frenzy.
Getting the final wrong
While his tenure had been largely positive up to this point, fans would be let down by England - particularly Southgate - for the first time when they reached the final of Euro 2020.
Despite taking an early lead at Wembley against Italy, the Three Lions would go on to lose on penalties.
On the face of it that doesn't sound like much to do with the manager.
Unfortunately, Southgate's reserved style came back to bite them, and England allowed Italy back into the game when they should have rode the momentum towards another goal.
The substitutes during the match didn't help either, with Declan Rice coming off and the Three Lions losing any semblance of midfield control.
Southgate would then infamously bring on Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho just for the penalty shootout, which backfired in worse ways than anyone could have imagined.
The defeat to Italy was the first sign that some supporters' belief in Southgate might be wavering - and, in truth, it's something he has struggled to shake off ever since.
San Marino put to the sword
England would hit another milestone under Southgate when they faced San Marino in World Cup qualifying in 2021 - recording the manager's biggest-ever win with a 10-0 victory.
Four goals for Harry Kane, as well as strikes from Bukayo Saka and Harry Maguire, saw the team prove again how good an attacking side they could be.
The win capped off another unbeaten qualifying campaign, and just a week later Southgate signed a new three-year contract extension.
A horrible Nations League campaign
Serious questions about the manager crept in after a dismal UEFA Nations League campaign in the summer of 2022, leading to several fans calling for a change of the guard ahead of the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.
England failed to win any of their six group games including two defeats to minnows Hungary and another loss against reigning European champions Italy.
The terrible run of form left a sour taste for many supporters and would result in the fiercest criticism Southgate had faced up to that point.
Doubt started to rise ahead of the World Cup, and the manager needed a huge performance in Qatar to regain the fans' support.
Let down at the World Cup
Despite a solid showing in the group stages and a great victory against Senegal in the round of 16, England fell short once again under Southgate in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
The Three Lions came up against favourites France in the final eight and would end up losing 2-1 after record goalscorer Kane missed a penalty late in the match.
What made the defeat even sorer was the fact England's captain had put a spot-kick away earlier in the match but failed to convert from the same scenario when his team desperately needed a lifeline.
While the result was a disappointment, it wasn't quite as easy to blame a manager who had been let down on the pitch by his players rather than by a tactical misstep like in the past.
The loss meant another major tournament without silverware, but after raising his nation to heights not seen for the last twenty years, Southgate was offered another chance at glory by being allowed to see his contract out until after the 2024 European Championships.
Making fans believe again at EURO 2024
Two weeks ago, pretty much every fan was just about done with England's slow, ponderous style of play that yielded minimal results throughout the Euro 2024 group stages.
Even after scraping into the last 16, the Three Lions were seconds away from elimination at the hands of Slovakia.
Then everything changed with a moment of magic from Jude Bellingham.
The midfielder pulled off an outrageous bicycle kick to equalise in the last minute of injury time before substitute Ivan Toney set up Kane for the winner in extra time - reigniting the flame that Southgate had lit so long ago when he first took England to the 2018 World Cup and 2020 Euros.
A better performance followed in the quarter-finals against Switzerland, with Southgate switching formation and even substituting top stars like Kane and Phil Foden; something most supporters would never have expected before the tournament started.
Saka curled in a late equaliser and the match ended 1-1, with England facing a penalty shootout once again.
Pickford made another save in the shootout while all five outfield players scored from the spot, including substitutes Toney, Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold, as well as Saka - who redeemed himself after missing at Euro 2020 in a heartwarming moment that reeled fans in even further.
The hope was building once more as another determined performance set up a date with the Dutch in the final four.
It looked like a similar story heading into the last 15 minutes of the semi-final with the score level at 1-1, but Southgate went bold again with a shrewd double substitution.
Palmer and Ollie Watkins would replace Foden and Kane - a brave change taking off arguably the two best players in the squad.
After their best performance of the tournament so far, England went on to produce another magical moment when Palmer slotted Watkins through to fire an inch-perfect winner into the bottom corner in the final seconds of the game.
Southgate and his players delivered once again, sending the country wild and bringing even the strongest doubters back onside for another attempt at glory in the Euro 2024 final.
After the semi-final, the manager admitted; "we all want to be loved, right?
"When all you read is criticism, it's hard. So to be able to celebrate a second final is very, very special.
"To be able to give them (supporters) a night like tonight is very special."
His tenure hasn't been perfect, but Southgate has brought England to heights not seen in decades and now the Three Lions have fans believing once more.
No matter the criticism faced or the questions raised, England are once again in a major final and one game away from football immortality.
Follow the Euro 2024 final between England and Spain here with Flashscore.
