The Sports Buff ⚽️ ⚾️ 🏈

Hello, good afternoon sports fans, I hope you’re well, looking after yourselves and are in good health. We need to talk about the football, the European Championships and the fact that England against the odds are in their second final in succession.

At the start of their tournament, Gareth Southgate’s England didn’t appear to deserve it. A narrow 1-0 win over Serbia and then drab draws in the next two games, meant that although England did qualify it was a bit of a hollow victory.

Southgate’s side qualified through the back, as qualifying through the back door as you can get. But this is tournament football and usually the best teams grow into the tournament, which to be fair, it appears The Three Lions have.

Encouraging performances followed against Slovenia and Switzerland, but only in the semi-final against 1988 winners Holland, did England show that this team is not only one of their best in years, but a team that can genuinely pose Spain a threat.

La Roja are of course a colossal opposition, so they will be dangerous for sure, but The Three Lions have grown into this tournament, and the changes that Southgate has made, to be fair have come off.
It’s easy to say, well Gareth Southgate has a good side, and they’re bound to do well, because so have France and they went out disappointingly. It was a case of what if.

Sunday’s final won’t be easy that’s for sure. Some will say the former Under-21 boss getting into the final for two European tournaments in a row is a vindication of the criticism he has been facing all tournament.

Respectfully, although it will be a tough ask, due to the quality of the opposition, they will need to win the final. Gareth Southgate has done well with this side and in the time he has been in charge, he has had some good sides.

One must not forget the 2002 and 2006 sides were good too, but yet they didn’t get past the quarter-finals. Some will say Gareth Southgate has had the rub of the green by coming up against the smaller nations.

Roy Hodgson came up against a so-called smaller nation and look how he fared. Southgate has done a good job, with the squad he has had available, but he will need to win a trophy in his time in charge to truly justify to the public, pundits and fans alike, that he has done a good job with the England national team.

Do you agree with my assessment?

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