Gareth Southgate Shares Belief In Dreams Before Euro 2024 Final Against Spain

Gareth Southgate, the England manager, does not believe in fairytales but firmly believes in dreams. On the eve of the Euro 2024 final, he expressed his thoughts. England will face Spain in Berlin on Sunday, with a chance to end a 58-year wait for another major trophy. Spain could become the first team to win the European Championships four times.

Under Southgate, England reached the semi-finals of three out of four major tournaments. They topped Group C despite winning only one match. They then came from behind to beat Slovakia and the Netherlands, and overcame Switzerland in a penalty shootout. Southgate emphasised that experience in big matches is crucial.

"We've got good experience of big matches now and I think at these moments you don't need to say too much to the players," Southgate said. "They don't need motivating for a game like this - it's about making sure the small details are right as fine margins decide these games and we've got to make sure we're on the right side of them."

Southgate wants to create a special moment for England. He stated, "I'm not a believer in fairytales, but I am a believer in dreams." He stressed that while they have had big dreams, it is essential to make those dreams happen through their performance.

"Fate, the late goals we've had, the penalties, that doesn't equate to it being our moment," he added. "We've got to make it happen tomorrow. It's in our hands, and it's our performance which is the most important thing."

The Challenge Ahead

Southgate acknowledged that his team has shown tremendous character and resilience over recent weeks. He praised their work ethic on the training pitch and highlighted the positive environment within the squad.

"Clearly the team have improved over the last few weeks," he said. "I have to say they have been a pleasure to work with every day on the training pitch. It's been a great environment to work in and now we have a fabulous opportunity tomorrow to achieve what we set out really from the moment we left Qatar."

Facing Spain

The Opta supercomputer rates England's chances of success at 28.5%, with Spain being favourites at 40.7%. Southgate will be only the third manager to take charge of more than one European Championship final consecutively, following Helmut Schon and Berti Vogts with Germany.

No coach has ever lost two finals in this competition before. Southgate remains fearless about facing Spain, saying, "I don't have any fear about tomorrow as I've been through everything. I want the players to have that fearlessness."

He believes that if his players are not afraid of losing, they stand a better chance of winning.

The stage is set for an exciting final where history could be made by either side.