This programme contains some strong language
- - England, it appears, are out-and-out favourites
with the bookies.
- Is it coming home? - This is the one.
What could possibly go wrong?
England favourites in a tournament? When has that ever happened?
I think England can go all the way.
England would, certainly for me, be one of the top two
or top three favourites to win the tournament.
- The expectation on England is huge. - It's over to you, Mr Southgate.
I think we have the best attacking line-up in the tournament.
But is this Gareth Southgate's last tournament,
irrespective of what happens?
Although Gareth Southgate has his critics, his approach
as England manager has proved to be
extremely successful in knockout tournaments.
Gareth Southgate stayed on after Qatar when many thought he would go.
Will that prove right or wrong? What will be the end of his story?
The bunting's out, the flags of St George are flying,
a nation waits.
Like it or not, how you end is often how you're remembered.
Right, so one more go. It all rests on this.
This is our best chance.
I understand you want to change direction,
but your reasoning in the past was that certain players, certain men,
brought something as valuable off the pitch as they did on.
Yeah? You've never been the manager that just picks
the best 11 individuals and whacks them on the pitch.
You assemble what you think is the best team together...
...for which you've taken a lot of shit.
Yeah? But it's got us this far.
This far. I wonder if that final mile
might need something just a bit more from us.
More... I don't want to say ruthless. That's not...
But... something... for this final push.
- A new approach. - It's like Return Of The King, innit?
- Yes. - Er, what's that?
- Lord Of The Rings. - Like hobbits?
Did I say The Hobbit? No, I said Lord Of The Rings.
Starts off where there's this fellowship, and there's loads of
different geezers and different tribes and different vibes,
and they all set off together. And bit by bit, one by one,
folks start falling by the wayside or get their heads chopped off,
and come the end, the very end, it's just Frodo and Samwise
basically alone, heading to Mordor,
because it's only them and, well, basically only him,
Frodo, who can return the ring from, you know, whence it came.
I'm saying, yeah, let's fucking do it,
escalate up a level.
All the best talent the nation has in one side. It doesn't matter
if it gets a bit messy, a bit testosterone-y,
one of them is going to put the ball in the back of the net
in a final, AKA, ring in the pit of lava! Job done!
- Some of that makes sense. - Mm... - And Germany,
I suppose that is a bit like your Mordor, eh, boss?
They came here all them years ago to your peaceful English shire
and robbed the prize, and now you - you, of all people -
get to go to them and bring it back.
England expects.
- - Right, let's talk England. One more friendly to go,
and Southgate has to name his 26-man final England squad for Euro 2024.
- It's exciting times. - It really is, and a key part of
the Southgate revolution, and what a remarkable revolution it's been.
- Remember eight years ago, Iceland? - Yeah. Tell me about it.
What a nightmare that was. His defining thing has always been
culture, conduct, mindset, being a team.
Part of all of that is loyalty to the players that built it with him.
And a lot of fans, they think he's too loyal
and that that's a weakness.
- Here you go. - Cheers, Gareth. Thank you.
All right, Slab Head?
Brilliant, yep.
HE CHUCKLES
- So, how are you doing, Harry? - What, my calf? - Yeah,
- we can start with your calf, if you like. - Well, it's doing OK.
Yeah, you know, Physio says there's real progress and I'm doing OK.
Good, good. Truth is, we're taking a look, mate, at a few new players,
different combinations, and so...
I'm sorry, Harry, this isn't easy to say.
I won't be taking you to Germany. I'm really sorry.
Oh, man.
And that's, er...
That's not in the balance? That's sort of final?
It is, mate. Yeah.
I know that'll take time to come to terms with.
Yeah.
You built something with me, Harry, and the others,
and, er, however we do, if we do well,
it'll be on the back of that work.
Would've been really brilliant to stay to the end, though,
be one of the ones...
I, er...
I really hope you go all the way. And I hope that for you,
cos... I consider you a mate. I'll always be... grateful.
And, er...
Shurrup, Harry. Fucking hell.
Yeah, I've just been focused on my recovery.
I think that's really smart.
I hear it's really improved,
but, erm, I'm afraid
that's where we are.
And players like Jude?
I want it to be OK for them.
I feel like it... like it could be OK for them,
because of me and the others, but, yeah, me.
Going out there, taking the bullets we took...
- ...facing those people down. - Yeah.
BOOING
I'm sure the next generation coming up know that and are grateful.
I know I am, Raheem. All you did.
All you've yet to do.
It's been a long time.
It's not going to work out this time, Hendo. I'm sorry.
You always said, like, that the care stuff, you know,
the stuff around the stuff off the pitch,
that that was a big reason for why we made our progress on the pitch.
And that'll all, like...
That'll all still be there, won't it,
without, you know, me and Maguire,
a lot of us group leaders doing the chats and the check-ins?
That learning doesn't go anywhere, Jordan, I know what's needed.
- It's OK. - Honestly, boss, because of that stuff, it...
It's honestly pretty much the best thing
I've ever been a part of. Brotherhood.
I can't thank you enough.
You all right, boss?
There's just nothing left to do now, you know, but win. And it was always
about the win, of course, but along the way, each tournament,
there were little gains, small victories,
obstacles overcome, and that's all... They've all been done now.
And so there's no other single reason...
...for me left to be here except to...
...to do it. To bring it home.
And they all know that out there. Nothing else will do.
OK.
HE EXHALES
Good to see you. Come on in.
- - Quickly, guys. Come on!
EXCITED CHATTER
- Guys, come on! - Fellas, let's do this. Line up, come on.
Fuckin' hell, Cole. You look like a little lad at a wedding.
- I hate smart stuff. - When was the last time you wore something smart?
- In court, probably. - Fellas, enough. Come on. Let's represent.
Sorry, boss. Just joshing.
Ode to Joy by Beethoven
Basically, they've only got that tree in the Black Forest.
There it is. You see it? You see it? Ah, it's great.
- - Just a few more days now for England to wait
before their first game of the European Championship
after touching down in Germany
and arriving at their base in Blankenhain.
Pressure is very much onto manager Gareth Southgate,
saying if his side aren't successful, he's likely to leave.
Vielen Dank fur die Einladung.
We'll do some interviews. Two minutes and we'll get your keys.
- Willkommen. - Danke.
- - I want to see our best players perform.
Yeah, this is never easy, these opening games -
nerves are jingling around.
- - And good evening, everyone.
Welcome to the start of another England adventure.
The players believe that they can be the ones
to end the now 58 years of hurt. For those watching and supporting,
it is again time to straddle that fine line
between hope and expectation.
In by Saka.
And in by Bellingham!
That is how it's meant to look. Fabulous header.
England's special talent!
Serbia are growing into this.
Vlahovic!
And Jordan Pickford to England's rescue.
Well, for England, this is not how it began.
There's just not the same connection, the same smoothness.
That was a hard watch, the second half. They've had to defend
- really, really deep. - We did what we needed to do, you know?
Serbia were never going to make it easy for us.
And it takes time, time to get up to speed as a new squad.
But we'll get there and show the fans, you know, what we're made of.
- - Welcome back. England didn't play well against Serbia.
Can they change that here today?
In goes Harry Kane!
1-0, England!
Oh, that's a super hit.
Denmark are level, and England have a job on here.
Oh, it's a really tough one, that, for England.
They've got away with a draw.
We can't be making any excuses, and I won't.
We, er... We didn't press the ball with enough intensity.
- - That has been a torrid match for Gareth Southgate
- and his team. - But it's not just the results that have everyone talking,
it's the lack of quality in England's overall play,
with the manager under pressure to turn things round.
- It's finished England 0 Slovenia 0. - JEERING
Gareth Southgate's men are going to the knockout stages
still searching for their spark.
Get Kane off! He's our captain. Shocking!
- - This is not a pretty sight for Southgate.
Even the England fans are throwing cups.
What has gone wrong at this tournament?
We're nothing. We're offering nothing.
Bellingham, a waste of space.
ANGRY SHOUTING
Ivory Coast sacked their manager mid-tournament
and then went on to win AFCON. If they're serious about
doing anything, they'll do the same. Come on, England!
Call themselves fans? How dare they!
I would have lobbed one of them cups back. Fuckers!
Look, Gareth, shall we... er, a quick powwow
- while the three of us...? - Well done, Gareth.
Standing there, doing that. Bigger man. I think it looks good,
- looks strong. - I'll always stand there. I'll always do that.
Guys, the fans are always going to want to express their anger,
- but we have to stay focused. - Yeah. I mean, stay strong, but...
PHONES CHIME - - Arseholes!
What? What now?
- - Ex-England players. They're becoming very vocal, sounding off.
Fucking traitors.
"Rooney slams Southgate." Blah, blah.
Lineker, too. "Team's display was shit."
Like I say, noise. Can't let the noise derail us. Block it out.
It's like they've all forgotten. The vicious cycle -
overnegativity adds pressure, which affects the players,
so they play shit, so there's more negativity, more pressure,
so they play more shit. I really thought you'd fixed all this,
- Gareth. - I can't fix everything!
We're through to the next round. Not that you'd know it.
Everyone get some sleep.
- - Erm, do you want to discuss any changes? - No, we stay the course.
A word with the lads before bed?
I think they've basically all gone to their rooms.
- Leave it. Maybe tomorrow. - It's just that... Look.
You know, I've always been a bit of a moany sceptic arsehole
about all the warm and fuzzy stuff, but I hold my hands up -
the vibes in the camp, they're not clicking. The social areas
are empty. No-one is checking in on anyone to see if they're all right.
Look, we don't have time to... We can't reinvent the wheel every time.
This is our last shot, and we have to just get it over the line. OK?
That's the only job. Nothing else. All right?
Stay the course.
- Boss, can we...? - Not now, Harry.
- - You all right, Harry?
He OK?
Yeah. He'll, erm...
He... He'll chat tomorrow.
OK.
- - England players and England staff would be the first
to admit they haven't played well. They didn't look as if they had
any energy. They couldn't press. They didn't create any chances.
They were under pressure.
And they were second best most of the game.
But the bottom line is, er...
...we haven't won nothing as a nation for a long, long time.
You know, a lot of these ex-players were part of that.
They know how tough it is, these major tournaments.
They know what it's like to wear the shirt, so...
I'll never dig anyone out. It's just...
...just the reality of remembering...
...what it feels like to wear the shirt.
Critics of Gareth Southgate have said, "You get ahead,
"you're playing well, and then it gets a bit defensive,
- "a bit negative." - Guys kicking off. Usual thing.
- Underwhelming. - Who cares what we think?
Expectation has risen. Not good enough as a manager.
Absolute shite. Absolute shite!
Not good enough as a manager.
That's what you get back for sitting back, you boring prat.
That's what you get, you boring prat! You bloody deserve that.
HE PANTS
- GREG, ECHOING: - Bring it back. End this quest.
WHISTLE BLOWS
And Kopke's right there.
Hey!
- - Gareth Southgate coming forward now.
And Kopke's right there.
Gareth Southgate coming forward now.
And Kopke's right there.
- - And Kopke's right there.
They are out. No 1966 in 1996.
- - So, England in search of a spark.
Slovakia in search of a big, big upset.
Yeah, this is a huge moment for England. It's the last 16.
The whole thing shifts up a gear, the knockout stage.
Slovakia fearless and with everything to gain.
And that is England's test.
Push up!
Gareth Southgate feeling this. It is not comfortable.
WHISTLE BLOWS
Yeah, it looks pretty tense out there.
England fans expecting, demanding.
England shirts heavy on the back of England players.
It's Strelec. He's played it in here for Ivan Schranz!
- And Slovakia have the lead! - England REALLY need to up their game now.
Gareth Southgate's team up against it. England 0 Slovakia 1.
What has he got to do in this half-time break?
He's tried minimum interference. I was sat on a bench
eight years ago in Nice, where England played Iceland,
and this has got Iceland vibes written all over it.
It's now or never for Gareth, because we've heard a lot about
spirit in the last six years, rightly so, of this group
and how it's all changed. That was going back yesteryear, that was.
That was a group of players who weren't together out there.
RAISED VOICES
Fucking shite, man. That could have been 2-0! 3!
Why is everyone acting so nervy, man?
Why's there no link-up at all? I'm doing my best.
I'm not blaming, I'm saying. I'm trying to get on the ball.
He's not trying, Jude. Why's there so much space on the right?
Let's use this moment to reset. All right? They pressed us high
first half. Second half, they're going to bed in.
We've got to take charge of the tempo. But only if we keep
- our heads, work together. - Are they a team? Are they in this together?
All these question marks are there now, and it doesn't look like it.
All the top managers, all the really good managers out there,
I always go back to it, are gamblers. They are gamblers,
sometimes on the pitch and off the pitch.
- Everyone needs to stay calm. - Something needs to change.
- HE needs to change something. - All right, Jude. - Not good enough, man.
OK.
We aren't where we want to be.
We're 1-0 down.
And if it stays that way...
...we're going home. Tonight.
And it's over.
They're going to slaughter us. Slaughter us!
Headlines. Chatter.
You think it's bad now? If we lose to Slovakia...
Don't think about something that hasn't happened.
Slovakia, a shitter side we should wipe the floor with!
Listen to the boss!
Do we want to give up, or do we want to fucking fight?
OK, Phil, guys, for a second, decompress and then... Mike?
So, look here.
We conceded from an inside pass down the right channel.
- - Gareth?
- How did it come to this? - I don't know. - The fear's back, isn't it?
You can see it in them. So what do we do?
Harry looks out on his feet.
Jude, for all his bluster, looks the same. Refresh those positions.
There are some hungry young bulls in there,
desperate for some intervention, some change.
Oh, I don't want to further unbalance it all, though...
...the shape. Maybe.
It's a real thing, you know, Steve.
To have intervened so catastrophically
in the course of events once.
Had I not put up my hand, had I just left it to fate...
Yeah.
- But that got you here, didn't it? - Yeah.
And we have to do something.
After all...
...what have we got to lose now, eh?
Kevin Keegan resigned in the bogs, didn't he?
Last ever game at the old Wembley. Lost to Germany.
Fitting... metaphorically. England manager, the shit and all that.
GARETH LAUGHS
Gareth, we're here now, and we're not going to be again.
Here, Tripp, you've got to switch on.
Guehi, you know what you're doing. All right?
Boss.
How lucky are we...
...to be here?
Doesn't feel like that right now, I know, but, my God...
...to have found the thing we love doing,
and to be able to do it for our country.
I'm not going to pretend that things don't feel
really, really tough at the moment. You don't feel loved out there,
and who doesn't want to be loved? I know I do, and I've wanted that,
and that has sometimes overwhelmed me, paralysed me.
- Two minutes. - Yeah.
But we can't change that out there.
England, it's... it's an angry country right now,
and it's taken a lot of that out on you, which has been surprising.
Even ex-players, who should know better about what this feels like...
But one day... one day, that could be you.
It's like commentating, watching and wishing anything...
...you were back here...
...doing this.
I won't be England manager for much longer. Whatever happens
in these coming minutes, this tournament will be my last.
- - Gareth... - - For real? - Yes. Come on, we know that.
Yes, for real. And that's OK, because that means
I will be the one who takes any and all flak, the slings and arrows
after defeat. I will be the story, which means that you guys...
...you should feel free to try anything,
create anything, creating moments,
because that's all life is, when you think about it -
the right now. So let my end liberate your present now.
From the very beginning, we dreamt of writing a new history.
Well, you all know that, historically, England's pattern
has always been score early and then sit back, get hammered, concede.
And we've repeated that in each exit - Russia, Wembley, Qatar.
England loses faith as time goes on.
Don't.
Rewrite THAT part of our story, if only that.
Keep believing. Keep going, right up until the final whistle,
because one day you will look back and give anything to be back here...
...with this team.
WHISTLE BLOWS
- - Foden's delivery.
Kane's header!
England need to be finding the target.
These are tense times. This is right on the edge now,
and time is running seriously short for England here.
More seconds tick away.
More nerves have been shredded.
Southgate is his own harshest critic,
but he wasn't expecting this.
They just about escaped from the group.
Now they need another Houdini act.
Ah, well. Nice speech, but, erm...
Thanks.
Three minutes over.
This is it.
Yeah.
What will you do?
Golf... maybe.
- Wife wants us to walk places. - That's nice. - Hmm.
Maybe.
It's been the honour of my life.
You know that.
Yeah.
It has.
- - It has just not happened for England.
Walker's throw-in.
England need a moment. They need a special something.
And England have saved it at the last!
Jude Bellingham is their saviour!
On the very cusp of elimination, he has kept England alive!
Melodramatically late in the day and utterly brilliant.
It is an exceptional goal.
England 1 Slovakia 1, and England are still in it.
It's Cole Palmer's free kick.
In for Harry Kane.
And the whole world has turned on its head!
Less than a minute into extra time, and England, from nowhere,
are suddenly precisely where they need to be.
England 2 Slovakia 1.
- - Playing for England is an enjoyable feeling.
There's also a lot of pressure. You hear people talk a lot of rubbish.
So it's nice to know that when you deliver, you can give
- some of that back. - Jude, people will be saying, who writes your scripts?
I do.
England into the quarterfinals.
What a star. Unbelievable, in't he?
Fluke it all the way to the final. We can do it.
- They're going to win it. Of course they are. - It's coming home!
Jude! Look at this! Old school.
I love a good bit of cards, me.
- Play? - Yeah.
What's your game? Blackjack?
Blackjack. Remind me. That's, erm...
- 21. - Which you've just turned... only days ago.
H started learning chess. He's a bit of a legend, in't he?
Everyone seems to, like, proper look up to him, don't they?
- Been your man since the beginning. - My captain? Yeah.
I feel like people...
...I don't know, kind of paint me as being the opposite...
Like, I'm dead arrogant or something.
Jude, you're going to be one of the greats.
I know that already. For your country,
your club here in Germany.
GARETH TAPS ON TABLE
Yeah, here.
I burst into tears when I left Birmingham.
- Did you? Why? - I don't know.
Home, innit? Family. You know?
That may have been one of the best England moments, goals ever.
Saved my arse, truth be told. We were set for another Iceland.
The things you said at half-time was like...
It was like something from an old war movie or something.
- I don't know, it just sank in. - I think I get a lot of my values
from my grandad, who fought in the war. That idea of service.
I remember him polishing his shoes, putting on his tie,
even just at home - smart suit, waist...
And waistcoat.
Do you think we're going to be all right now? Was that a turning point?
Nothing is guaranteed. Can't take anything for granted.
- Mm. - And we can't control the cards we've been dealt.
But we CAN control how we play 'em.
BOTH LAUGH
Nice.
Gareth Southgate can pull them together, I think.
I think what he needs to do is remember what he used to be
ten years ago, when he came into the job.
So, er... So what's this, then?
Press conference. Won't be easy, but...
But better than it would have been. Could have been.
Feel good. New lease of life.
Yeah, it all feels like a bit of a bonus, this, Gareth. Extra time.
Are you trying to focus? Do you want me to stop talking?
No, it's all right.
PITCH-SIDE INTERVIEW
Gareth!
Andreas!
- Erm... - I'm just doing a little, er... You know,
they love us old boys coming on, chatting the chat.
Yes, and look at you now. Wow!
Do you often... think of that moment?
I felt sort of, erm... I don't know.
...bound to you in a strange way, by being bound to that.
What, you and me?
Sure. It was, of course, a great moment for me.
- THE defining one of our careers. - Well, one of them, maybe not THE.
I was part of the team that won the World Cup in '90.
Wah!
- That was wow. - But, erm...
...ours is not the one moment you play and, erm...
...replay?
No.
No, for me, it was Croatia, two years after,
losing 3-0 in the quarters.
Oh, my God. Such a haunting moment for Germany. Three goals I let by.
I think of those players all the time.
- But what can you do? - Yeah, I just thought that, erm, well...
GARETH LAUGHS
- ...you know, given England, Germany, big historic rivals... - England?
You are not our big rivals. It's the Dutch!
- The Dutch? - I see why you always feel this thing to prove.
And maybe you will this time.
Yeah, maybe.
Do you want a photo with me?
Sure, yeah.
Oh, hold up.
Do YOU want a photo with ME?
Oh, yes, sure! Exactly!
- OK. Nice? - Yeah. Yeah. Oh.
- If you give me your number, I'll send it to you. - Sure.
- - Quarterfinals of a major tournament -
always something special in the air.
But there's even more excitement than ever around this place today.
Same old story - England in a major tournament
and a penalty shoot-out again.
Cole Palmer's first up.
And he scores.
Bellingham with absolute certainty.
And so it is Bukayo Saka's turn.
A poignant moment indeed for a young man three years on
from his heart-rending moment in the Wembley final.
How broad are those young shoulders?
He's up to it OK!
England 3-1 up.
And that Saka smile is radiant.
Trent Alexander-Arnold to take England through
to the last four of Euro 2024.
Trent without a flicker of doubt!
And England are into the semifinals. Five perfect penalties.
Penalty pressure, it seems,
no longer the England issue of years gone by.
One by one they stepped up, one by one they scored,
and England march on.
- - Look, everyone knows what happened back at the Euros.
You can fail once, but
you have a choice in life whether you put yourself
in that position again or not. And I believed in myself.
I didn't focus on the past. That's done. I can only focus on now.
And there's only two games now until we can change our lives
and make history that's never been done before.
- - Great. Thanks, Bukayo. Thanks very much.
- Thank you. - Best of luck. - Thanks.
- - Good evening, everyone.
Welcome to Dortmund, which is under Dutch invasion.
There has been a lightening of the mood, a sceptical positivity.
Sometimes after coming through adversity, belief grows.
- We're ready. We're going to win. - We're going to bring it home.
Xavi Simons!
Fine goal.
Kane!
It's over. But he is hurt. He is writhing.
And that is an England penalty.
Of course it's Harry Kane.
It's in!
Phil Foden...
Ooh, it's off the line.
Problem for England here.
And Kyle Walker has solved it.
Oh, it's in!
And the flag is up. WHISTLE BLOWS
- The goal doesn't count. - Ollie, Cole, you're on. Get warmed up.
Last ten minutes, and these England changes have been coming
for a while, and Harry Kane is being removed here.
Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins, each with a late chance
to impact England, then, with a fresh, new source of ideas,
a couple of sharp, creative minds and bodies.
Come on, lads!
Into the last minute of the 90. Cole Palmer looking to inspire.
That's a lovely ball for Watkins.
Oh, he scores! Watkins through an impossible angle,
across and into the far bottom corner.
What a strike that is from Ollie Watkins! Netherlands 1 England 2,
and we're into added time in the semifinal.
It seems England are set for Berlin, thanks to Ollie Watkins.
Ollie Watkins!
Gareth's men have fought to the final moment!
They simply will not give up!
And for the first time, England will play in a final...
- Come on! - ...on foreign soil. - One more! One more!
What a dramatic finish yet again for England.
Yes! Come on!
One more! Come on!
♪ Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na, na-na
♪ Freed from desire Mind and senses purified
♪ Freed from desire
♪ Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na, na-na
♪ Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na, na-na. ♪
HE DIALS
RINGING TONE
I wasn't sure you'd answer.
- - Not answer? Piss off! It's you. - Where are you?
I'm just out for a walk, actually.
- You? - Yeah. Same.
So, well done. Another final, another milestone. Amazing.
Are there good vibes back home?
Yeah.
Well, now, at least, anyway.
It all just feels so perilous at the moment, Pippa, this final moment.
Perilous in what way?
We tried something new, didn't we, like you once said?
And it did seem to work - has worked, for the most part,
We turned the ship around against scepticism and doubt,
but... but I worry how something ends
is how it'll be remembered.
Happy ending or a sad one kind of thing?
I suppose. All the great stories have one or the other.
Yeah, but life isn't as simple as a story, is it?
You know, we framed this... this quest like that when we started -
beginning, middle, end. But things don't necessarily
start and end like that, do they? Time moves on. So do we.
No, but our project, though, if it gets, I don't know, reversed,
if it isn't proven to work fully when it's no longer me,
it might all go backwards to the old days, the old ways,
- and all just slip away. - I hear that, but you can't
control the future, can you? You can only control the now.
Yeah.
- - Good evening. I hope you've done your Sunday chores,
cooked your Sunday roast, watched the Wimbledon final,
stopped worrying about work in the morning,
and instead are looking ahead to a night that could change
the story of football in our country for ever.
No England team has ever won a major tournament on foreign soil.
Sporting immortality is within their grasp.
Look, I'm not a believer in fairy tales.
But I am a believer in dreams.
This is our dream,
a dream no other England player has ever got to make real before.
150 years.
Our first final abroad, here, Germany.
Once upon a time, such moments were once in a lifetime.
But here, look - England, a final again.
You're turning the rare into something regular,
a new England that comes from behind, that fights,
because your England knows nothing is ours by right.
We've got to earn it.
Remember this moment.
Remember this dream.
Come on, England!
SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
- - Oh, what an occasion we've got here, Guy.
Good evening, everyone. I hope this England team go for it,
have no regrets and make history.
WHISTLE BLOWS
England!
Nico Williams is closing in
and finishing with poise past Pickford. Spain in front
in the early moments of the second half.
England caught cold at the restart, and the Spanish have pounced.
Saka's on his way here,
Bellingham can move it on.
And Cole Palmer sweeps it home!
A euphoric moment for England.
It's all square, with a quarter of an hour to play.
- - England alive and kicking again.
All of a sudden, all things seem possible.
And Oyarzabal has dashed onto it, and Spain have grabbed the lead back
with time running out.
FINAL WHISTLE BLOWS
Spain are European champions,
and in the end, the best team probably won it.
But how many times is your heart going to break?
Sometimes a picture can say more than a thousand words,
and the look on Gareth Southgate's face tells it all.
As a proud Englishman, it's been the honour of my life
to play for England and to manage England.
We have the best fans in the world,
and their support has meant the world to me.
But it's time for change and for a new chapter.
Sunday's game against Spain was my final game as England manager.
Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you
the England manager, Thomas Tuchel.
I'm sorry I have a German passport,
but hopefully I can convince the fans
that I'm proud to be the English manager.
I will do everything I can to respect this role and this country.
The target for the next 18 months
is nothing else than putting a second star on the shirt.
This is the biggest role in world football.
I'm aware that I'm standing on the shoulders
of a great many giants. PHONE CHIMES
There will be those fans who'd say they would have preferred
the England team to be managed by an English coach...
- - A German! I say again, a German!
- - I can assure you that I will give my best.
As Lee Carsley was asked, will you be singing the national anthem?
Does the England manager have to?
INTERVIEW CONTINUES
- Gareth? - Oh, Thomas. - I hope this is OK. I know this thing
of an Englishman's home being his castle, and all that.
No, of course. Please.
I meant what I said about standing on your shoulders.
Yeah, I meant it, too, when I said it. I'll be out of here in just...
No, please, take your time.
It's not my place to ask, but...
...I did wonder - your plans, continuity or change?
A clean break is often important, just as you did, but I'm building on
your work of change, Gareth. You got closer than anyone else ever got
to bringing it back here. You prepared the podium.
It's up to me now to make that last step. And, hey, ten years ago,
no truly world-class manager wanted this job.
- You mean that's why I got it? - Well, yes.
Exactly.
But if I did say something on your record, I would remind
people that, for 58 years, England never made it to a final,
but you took them to two. I would remind them
that your run of semifinal, final, quarterfinal, final
is the best run in English history.
I would congratulate you that you won more knockout games
than every single other manager since 1966, combined,
all of the games added together.
You made the unsurvivable survivable, Gareth,
the impossible job possible again.
Thank you.
I will say none of this, of course, and join in with the booing.
Yeah.
Look after them, won't you?
Oh, they'll be fine.
That's your legacy, Gareth.
They're going to be fine.
I remember asking my players all those years ago,
when this journey first began...
...what they thought their England was -
what's mine, what's yours
and what we want it to be.
And I suppose I wanted mine to be one of hope
and kindness,
of progress over time.
Time.
Isn't that why we care so much,
these markers every two and four years,
something that frames the moments of our lives,
where we were at and who we were with?
We're all part of an unbreakable chain that goes back and back...
...but also forwards, too.
And for an old country, it's the forward that matters now,
the next quest, the next goal.
There isn't such a thing as a beginning and an end.
Nothing is ever really final.
A country is only the stories we tell ourselves...
...about ourselves,
a series of moments seared into one memory,
stitched together across time.
England is a story we're all writing,
and it's never over, never done.
Oh, come on, guys! It's started! Kick-off.
- Come on. - Flynn! Mia!
- - Can Thomas Tuchel's England get off to a winning start
under his tenureship? England versus Albania is coming up next.
Since I was a young kid,
the only thing I wanted to do was play football for England.
HE EXHALES
Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
♪ Sweet Caroline
♪ Good times never seemed so good
♪ I feel inclined
♪ To believe they never would
♪ Oh, no, no
♪ Sweet Caroline
♪ Good times never seemed so good
♪ Sweet Caroline... ♪