The Three Lions have benefitted from a carefully curated training camp, paying attention to small details and a few slices of good fortune
England's Euro 2024 campaign began with Jude Bellingham scoring a diving header and doing a 'wolf' celebration with Trent Alexander-Arnold, in homage to the role-playing game they have taken to at their base camp. Before long, though, the euphoric mood among the team was replaced by a bunker mentality, an 'us and them' situation following the draws against Denmark and Slovenia, as criticism, a lot of it justified although some crossing the line, rained down on the players and Gareth Southgate.
Had England crashed out against Slovakia in the last 16, as they very nearly did, then this campaign would have gone down as one of the biggest disappointments in the national team's tournament history, filed alongside the group-stage exits of Euro '88 and '92, and the more recent last-16 elimination by Iceland.
But a forceful long throw from Kyle Walker and a stupendous bicycle kick from Jude Bellingham saved England from the abyss and a new, far happier story is being written in its place. England are on their way to the European Championship final in Berlin in pursuit of a first trophy since 1966, fans are taking out loans to join them there, forking out thousands of pounds on flights or embarking on 20-hour road trips.
There is even talk of Gareth Southgate staying on, an unthinkable scenario just two weeks ago, when a handful of disgruntled fans were throwing beer cups at the manager. All is forgiven and there is a harmonious spirit as England prepare to take on Spain with immortality beckoning.
Getty New culture
Southgate's tactical acumen is frequently debated, often furiously, but his knack for building the right culture is universally acclaimed. After all, he has been focused on the area for more than a decade, ever since he became England's under-21 coach in 2013. It was at that time that he created the 'England DNA' dossier alongside Dan Ashworth and Matt Crocker.
It was a blueprint for success for all teams at St George's Park: the men's team, the women's team and youth sides. By Sunday night, England could be European champions in all three categories. The document was concerned with style of play rather than how to keep teams happy at tournaments but it undoubtedly prepared Southgate well for building productive camps.
His first camp with the under-21s was at the prestigious Toulon youth tournament in France in 2014. A 20-year-old Harry Kane was part of the squad, as were Eric Dier and James Ward-Prowse. One of the methods Southgate used was to bring cameras into the dressing room, encouraging players to get comfortable with media attention.
"His camp was a breath of fresh air, openness, co-operation," former England managing director Adrian Bevington told the authors of the book 'Dear England: The Real Story of the Three Lions' Rebirth'. "The acorns were there for what he was going to do at his senior England camps. Gareth has a really dry sense of humour. He used to laugh about the England camps, about how claustrophobic they were, about how Sol Campbell couldn't go out for an ice cream. This felt different, it just felt right."
AdvertisementGetty Striking a balance
Southgate and his staff had various precedents when it came to atmospheres at previous England tournaments. There was the infamous Baden Baden camp at the 2006 World Cup, under Sven-Goran Eriksson, which descended into a WAG circus, painting the picture of a squad who lost their focus amid the media frenzy.
Fabio Capello took things to the other extreme at the 2010 World Cup in their Rustenberg base in South Africa, where England's players were reported to be suffering from boredom amid the Italian manager's strict regime. There was so little to do that players watched Wayne Rooney's wedding video. All of it.
Southgate's first expedition away with the senior team was on a brutal training camp with the Royal Marines. His camps at the major tournaments have looked like fun, from players playing darts with journalists before press conferences in Russia, to Bukayo Saka playing around with an inflatable unicorn at the last Euros. He has also struck a balance with the players' loved ones. Families were invited into the camp after the draw with Denmark, but only for seven hours.
Harry Kane, bizarrely, felt that was too long. He said: "We had seven hours with the family, which I’m not sure all the lads were happy about after a few hours. It was pretty hectic, to be fair. We might cut that down in the future."
Getty ImagesHaving fun
He has also let the players have fun. Ed Sheeran paid the squad a visit at their training camp in Blankenhain after the Slovakia game. Before the Switzerland match, they went for beers. Southgate feels that the team have grown more relaxed as the tournament has gone on after their stiff start.
"There's been a definite shift," he said before the Netherlands game. "One of the strengths of ours over the last seven or eight years has been less fear, less inhibition. But I think that at the beginning of the tournament, the expectation weighed quite heavily and of course the external noise was louder than it has ever been. I felt we couldn't quite get ourselves in the right place. In the end, what was impressive was that the players ground out results and found ways to win.
"I felt that shifted once we got into the knockout stages and definitely in the quarter-final. I felt we saw a better version of us with the ball, freer. I'm not sure any of the messaging changed, but I just felt the group changed."
Kane added: "The expectation has been bigger and the noise a bit louder, but we've handled it well. Some use it as motivation, some will block it out. We have a close togetherness with the staff and players – all in the same direction."
GettyDeep breaths
Southgate has also taken care of the small details, which have had a big impact. As a player forever associated with missing his penalty against Germany at Euro 96, the manager has made it his mission to improve England's record at shootouts and has done a remarkable job, winning three out of four in his tenure.
He refined his approach for this tournament, making use of a buddy system, meaning each player had a partner they could look out for before stepping up and to console them after if they missed. He also employed a breathing coach to keep them calm in high pressure situations such as shootouts.
Stuart Sandeman, author of best-selling book 'Breathe In, Breathe Out', held a session with the squad and told them that taking deep breaths for just five seconds helped their muscles and mind reset. Ivan Toney could be seen taking deep breaths before taking his penalty against Switzerland – when he did not look at the ball – as did Bukayo Saka and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Jordan Pickford's water bottle with all the likely directions of Switzerland's penalties also played a role in the victory. This is common practice across international and club football but was not something previous England teams researched to a great extent. Southgate, once again, has benefitted from looking after every detail possible.