⚽ England – Key Euros Stats ⚽
Euros appearances: 10
Euro Titles: 0
Best finish: Final (2020)
Euros Record: W15 D13 L10
Goals scored: 51
Biggest win: 4-0 vs Ukraine (Euro 2020)
Player to watch: Phil Foden
World ranking: 4th
Team nickname: The Three Lions Group Fixtures:
- 16 June: Serbia vs England (Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, 9pm local/19:00 GMT)
- 20 June: Denmark vs England (Frankfurt Arena, Frankfurt, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)
- 25 June: England vs Slovenia (Cologne Stadium, Cologne, 9pm local/19:00 GMT)
There’s an inescapable irony to the predicament Gareth Southgate finds himself in going into Euro 2024, which starts with England’s opening match of the tournament against Serbia on June 16 in Gelsenkirchen.
Since taking over as England boss in 2016, the 53-year-old has worked assiduously towards transforming the team’s sporting culture. Club loyalties are no longer fault lines, the bottle-neck pressure that came with donning the jersey has been transformed into a privilege, and incongruity has been replaced by identity.
Far from the individualism that marked England’s “Golden Generation” era, Southgate’s setup has been built around the collective.
But things have now gone full circle. He has successfully managed to break up England’s star culture only to find himself trapped in the spotlight.
Southgate’s legacy is the dominant narrative for England heading into the Euros. The tournament is a referendum on his nearly eight-year reign, with a majority of the English public ready to deem it a failure if they don’t bring back the winner’s trophy from Germany.
It is now or never for England
In many ways, Southgate’s been a victim of his own success: He led England to an unlikely World Cup semifinal in 2018; lost the final of the previous Euros in 2021 on penalties; and was a Harry Kane penalty away from possibly knocking out the reigning champions France in the 2022 World Cup.
The Three Lions were 13th in the FIFA world rankings when he was handed the managerial reins in 2016 – today they sit fourth. Since the 2018 World Cup in Russia, they haven’t dropped out of the top five.
England’s consistency over the past six years has become so commonplace, it’s almost taken for granted. It’s easy to forget that before Southgate taking over, England’s last appearance in the semifinal of a major tournament came way back at Euro 1996
