Southgate delighted as England beat Holland to reach Euro24 final
uefa24
10/07/2024
Dortmund, Germany
uefa24
10/07/2024
Dortmund, Germany
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Congratulations to England for reaching the final.
00:11With us is Gerrit Saalgaard for the post-match press conference.
00:13Can I have a show of hands, please?
00:15And don't forget to say your name and the media house.
00:18Let's start from there.
00:20In the middle.
00:23Thank you.
00:24Hello, Mr. Tao Shen from T10 Sports China.
00:31Congratulations for reaching the final.
00:33England is the first team in the history of Euro to reach the final after twice being
00:40behind in disadvantageous situation in the quarter-finals and semi-final.
00:45Why the miracle always happen to your team?
00:48Why the subs always become super subs?
00:51Thank you.
00:53Character.
00:56I mean, I think definitely tonight I don't think we deserved to be behind.
01:02It was a moment.
01:04We'd started the game really well.
01:06And I thought our performance with the ball was exceptional.
01:11Really good.
01:12We caused a lot of problems.
01:15It was a very complicated game.
01:17They kept changing the way they were building up.
01:19So we had to keep changing the way we were defending.
01:21They kept changing the way they were defending.
01:23So we were looking for different solutions.
01:27But in the end, the players made so many good decisions on the field.
01:33People like Bukai Osaka, the defensive responsibility he had.
01:37He started defending as a wingback.
01:39Then he had to go into midfield to defend.
01:41Then he had to defend as a winger.
01:43There were so many things like that going on all night.
01:47But I was really pleased with the quality of our play.
01:50It will be, I would imagine, a long time since, or if ever,
01:56an English side had 60% of the ball against a side from the Netherlands.
02:00So it shows the more modern England way.
02:05But also the resilience and the character of the group.
02:10Because Ollie Watkins has trained like that every day.
02:15He's been ready for his moment,
02:17no matter how frustrated he might have been at not playing.
02:20He's been ready, and the whole group have been.
02:24The way that they've formed, it's a group with a lot of new players in it.
02:30Half of them had never been to a tournament.
02:33But they've bonded so well.
02:36They've all got each other's back.
02:38Tonight was a great example of that.
02:42Thank you.
02:44Hi, Gareth. Steve from AP.
02:47It sounds like you've stressed out the King back home.
02:49We sent you a message saying he was on the edge of his seat like a lot of the fans.
02:53Can you give a message to people back home
02:55who have been stressed out by that performance
02:58and over the past few weeks your late, late shows?
03:03Well, I hope they're enjoying a few beers, really.
03:06We've had some incredible nights.
03:09The last seven or eight years,
03:13these games have been dramatic because the goals have come so late.
03:20The only reason I did the job when I took it on
03:24was to try and bring success to England as a nation
03:27and to try and improve English football.
03:31To be able to take the team to a first final overseas,
03:36I'm immensely proud of that.
03:39But now, of course, we've come here to win.
03:42We play the team who have been the best team in the tournament
03:45and we have a day less to prepare, so it's a huge task.
03:49But we're still here and we're fighting.
03:53Thank you.
03:56Hi, Olly Moody, DW Sports.
03:59Thank you.
04:00Kobe Mane was everywhere in that first half
04:03and seemed to be gaining confidence from everything that he did,
04:07which was mixed by the end of the half.
04:09Do you think this was a breakout performance for him in an England shirt?
04:13How important is it for the team to have players like that
04:16who bring a bit of youthful joy to the game?
04:20I think all of his performances have been exceptional,
04:23especially when you consider his age.
04:28We haven't really had a player like him until now,
04:33so it makes such a difference
04:35when your midfield players can receive pressed
04:37and turn with the ball so easily and comfortably.
04:40It looks simple when he does it, but it isn't simple.
04:45But I thought him, Phil popping up in spaces, Jude,
04:50our movement was really good.
04:54That caused a lot of problems.
04:56It caused them to adapt to how they were without the ball.
04:59We had the goal that's disallowed by a fraction for offside.
05:04We have the chance that Phil has just cleared off the line.
05:07I was really pleased with our football tonight.
05:10Thank you.
05:13Hello, Gareth.
05:14Egil from Norwegian NRK.
05:15You chose to pick off Harry Kane, your captain,
05:18ten minutes before the game was finished,
05:20your best penalty shooter.
05:22This seems like quite a gamble,
05:25but how does it feel that it paid off?
05:29Harry took quite a big knock when he won the penalty,
05:34so we weren't sure how long he would be able to play on for.
05:39Him and Phil were playing well,
05:42but we were losing a little bit of energy on the pressure.
05:46Certainly we weren't taking Phil off because of his performance,
05:51but we have got good players on the bench.
05:54That freshness we felt could help us.
05:59We wanted to make that gamble in normal time
06:03rather than wait until extra time,
06:05having been to extra time twice.
06:07We didn't really want to go through that again physically as a team.
06:13For Ollie to produce that moment when he did
06:18saved us another half an hour at least.
06:21Very, very special for him. I'm delighted for him.
06:25Hi, Gareth. Congratulations. James Ollie from ESPN.
06:29Could you talk a bit about the change the Netherlands made in the second half?
06:33The tactical problem that posed for you
06:36and what your thought process was in solving it?
06:40From the start of the game,
06:43they were dropping Depay lower,
06:46Simmonds on the other side to normal.
06:49Building a little bit more with a four.
06:53We didn't need the five at the back.
06:56We pushed Bukayo into midfield to pick up Reinders.
07:01They then adapted again because they were having problems dealing with us.
07:06They left the left flank a bit freer in the latter part of the second half.
07:12Played almost a 4-2-2-2, much narrower.
07:16It meant they had the numbers in midfield to make it more difficult for us.
07:22Kieran had a little bit of a problem.
07:25Hopefully, he could be okay.
07:27With them giving us the left flank, it was a good moment to bring Luke on.
07:30We weren't sure how long he could play.
07:32To finish the game, we felt it would be important.
07:35They then adapted again with Veghorst coming on.
07:40They had more numbers through.
07:42They were a three-box-three in the second half,
07:46which Bukayo did a brilliant job covering inside.
07:50We weren't able to be quite as incisive as we were in the first half,
07:53but we kept the ball really well and we made them run.
07:56Maybe in the end, that's the bit that's fatigued them,
08:01that's been critical in the goal that we scored.
08:05There was a lot going on in the game.
08:09We had to keep making decisions and getting messages on,
08:12but in the end, it's the players that make the decisions on the pitch,
08:15and they did it brilliantly.
08:19Michael Boyko for 90 Plus German media.
08:22England now have mainly played against defensively strong teams.
08:28Now they face Spain in the final, the strongest team in this tournament.
08:34Would you say that possession and offensive teams suit England better
08:42in terms of playing style?
08:45We'll have to get the ball off them first.
08:48It's not as simple as us having the ball and making them run.
08:53They press very, very well,
08:55so we're going to have to be exceptional with the ball
08:59and we're going to have to be exceptional without it.
09:02But it's the final. You expect it to be that way.
09:05They've been the best team.
09:07We're starting to show a better version of ourselves.
09:11The extra day is a concern.
09:14In the last few tournaments, that's been a problem for finalists.
09:19So we've got to do the very best we can to recover the players as well as we can.
09:25But we're not going to be on the training ground.
09:28It's simple. We'll be walking through things or delivering things in meetings,
09:32which was the same for this game.
09:35But we're in there and with what we've shown to this point,
09:41we have as good a chance as they do.
09:48You've touched on the personal criticism and the build-up,
09:51obviously the difficulties you had early on.
09:53Every knockout game there's talk of whether it's your last game.
09:56So with all that in mind, where does this rank in terms of achievements,
10:00your time in England and how proud are you of everything?
10:06As I said earlier, I took the job to try and improve English football
10:10and we're now in a second final.
10:14The last one was the first in 50 years.
10:16We're now in the first that isn't played on our shores.
10:23I think we've got a team that will be together for quite a while,
10:27so it's not as though this is a team that's at the end of a cycle.
10:31We're giving people some amazing nights.
10:33I think we've given our supporters some of the best nights over the last 50 years.
10:39I'm hugely proud of that.
10:41I'm delighted if everybody at home is feeling the way we are
10:45and the way the supporters in this stadium were feeling.
10:50But from our point of view, we're not finished.
10:53We've got the greatest possible test to prepare for
10:59and we came here to try and win the tournament and that's still our aim.
11:11Will the experience of the three years ago preparing for the final
11:16call on those experiences to help you this time around?
11:20Is there an important balance to strike tonight in terms of celebrating the moment
11:26but also focusing on the game on Sunday?
11:30The lads are singing in the dressing room but they're straight in the ice.
11:39There won't be any wild parties.
11:41We've had a couple of those already.
11:44We pick our moments for those.
11:47In terms of the experience, of course.
11:49Every game you manage, every tournament you manage, you learn so much.
11:56When I took this job I'd had three years as a Premier League manager.
12:02I've now had 100 internationals, some of the biggest games in world football.
12:06You learn all the time from that.
12:09We're more calm going into the knockout games
12:12because the first time we did it in Russia,
12:14we hadn't won a knockout game for ten years.
12:16We hadn't been through the experience.
12:20Quarter-finals, semi-finals, we've managed a lot of those games now.
12:26You're definitely much better prepared
12:29because every experience you go through you learn from.
12:34You're improving all the time.
12:36Your knowledge, your understanding.
12:39I would say if you're a coach and you're not doing that,
12:42there'd be a problem, really.
12:46The last finals, the first European Championship final I'd ever managed.
12:51If I didn't get everything right, apologies for that.
12:55We'll try and do better this week.
13:00Hi, Garrett. Congratulations with the final.
13:03On the 13th of July, Yamal is having a birthday.
13:08He's turning 17.
13:10On the 14th, there is the match.
13:12Do you have a present for this exceptional player
13:15or do you keep the medal for you? Thank you.
13:18Can I get your name and the media house, please?
13:20Harry.
13:21Armenia Media.
13:22Thank you.
13:25He looks an exceptional talent, that's clear.
13:29We have some good young players,
13:31but Spain, Pedri, Gavi, Yamal,
13:38the centre-back from Barcelona that you didn't bring,
13:4217-year-old Kebasi.
13:46We're not the only country that has good young players.
13:48Sometimes we think we are, but it's not the case.
13:56We play a very tough game at the weekend,
13:59there's no doubt about that.
14:01But it's a final, so you expect it to be a very tough game.
14:07We're proud to be there and we're looking forward to the challenge.
14:11I'll take the last three questions.
14:14Hi, Garrett.
14:17Koeman just said it wasn't a penalty.
14:19How do you look back at that moment?
14:22I haven't seen.
14:23I know our analysts that were looking at it thought it was.
14:32Presumably they've reviewed it very closely.
14:37But no, I have not seen it, actually.
14:40We have a question over here in the second row.
14:42Thank you.
14:43Paul Joyce, The Times.
14:45Can I just check on Kieran Trippier's injury?
14:48Was it a groin injury?
14:50Do you think he's got a chance for the weekend?
14:52Yeah, I'm not sure.
14:54We didn't want to take any chances and we had it in our minds
15:01that bringing Luke into a game with that balance,
15:04at some point we're still deciding how long he could play for,
15:08but we felt to be able to bring him into the game
15:10and finish with that balance was better than to start it
15:13and then have to take him off.
15:16So we'll have to see how Tripp's is,
15:19but he's been an absolute soldier for us
15:21and to fill in the way he has
15:24and produce the level of performance on the wrong side of the pitch
15:28with the injuries he came into the tournament with as well
15:32has been absolutely phenomenal.
15:35Last question.
15:37Thank you.
15:38Rob Draper, Evening Standard.
15:40Gareth, really nice point of connection with the fans,
15:43obviously in contrast to the disconnection earlier in the tournament.
15:46Was that special, obviously something that you've enjoyed?
15:49You said you need to enjoy that moment,
15:51but was that quite important to reconnect?
15:55Yeah, I mean, we all want to be loved, right?
15:59So when you're doing something for your country
16:05and you're a proud Englishman,
16:09when you don't feel that back
16:11and when all you read is criticism, it's hard.
16:14So, yeah, to be able to celebrate a second final is very, very special
16:21and especially with fans that travel,
16:24our travelling support is amazing,
16:26the amount of money they spend to travel,
16:29the commitment to do that,
16:31to be able to give them nights like this,
16:33and I think we have given them a few
16:35over definitely the last six years from Russia onwards.
16:41Yeah, it means a lot.
16:43So if I hadn't been on the grass,
16:47I'd have been watching, celebrating like they were.
16:50So we're kindred spirits in many ways,
16:56but of course I'm the one that has to pick a team.
17:00So to be able to give them a night like tonight,
17:03very, very special.
17:05Thank you very much.
17:06Thank you for your presence.
17:07Once again, thank you to the volunteers who helped us out
17:09and congratulations to England for reaching the final.
17:12Thank you.