Southgate's England legacy polished by knockout turnaround

The Euro 2024 final is likely to be Gareth Southgate's last match as England manager and he can walk away with his legacy "saved by the Bell", polished by penalties and enhanced by some semi-final excellence, regardless of what happens against Spain.

Everyone is again singing his praises as England prepare for a second successive European Championship final but such are the fine margins in elite sport that Southgate was a minute away from a horribly ignominious end to his eight-year tenure.

After deadly dull but table-topping progress through the group stage, England were 1-0 down to Slovakia deep into stoppage time in the last 16 without having managed a shot on target.

Jude Bellingham's wonderful bicycle kick and Harry Kane's header in extra time saved Southgate's blushes, though he was still widely pilloried for sending on substitute Ivan Toney with only one minute to go.

They were behind again in Southgate's 100th game in charge, against Switzerland, going through via a supremely confident and professional display in a shootout - something new for England for which he deserves huge credit for helping bring about.

Then, in the semi-final against the Netherlands, the England that everyone had expected to see emerged.

They went behind for the third game in a row but brushed off that setback to produce their best 45 minutes, not just of the tournament, but probably of the last two years.

It was still only 1-1 at half-time, and they needed Ollie Watkins' last-gasp strike to win it, but this was no fluky scrape over the line as England were the far superior side.

Southgate, famously stubborn previously, appeared to have listened to advice as he made earlier, telling substitutions in that game, including the removal of captain Harry Kane, something he would never have considered in past tournaments.

The win, and the nature of the performance, has changed the whole mood around the team and the nation.

Southgate said before the game that he felt his players had been weighed down by expectation in the early rounds, but they played with freedom and confidence against by far the best opposition they had faced.

Incredible luck

Critics, and there are still many, point to Southgate's incredible luck at stumbling across easy groups and knockout routes again and again but, even taking that into account, his record is extraordinary.

It must be remembered that he took over a team that had mustered one point in the 2014 World Cup group stage and lost to Iceland in the 2016 European Championship.

Eight years later they are appearing in a second consecutive Euros final, having reached a first World Cup semi-final since 1990 and then lost a close World Cup quarter-final to France.

Those three semi-finals in four attempts stack up against four in the previous 66 years of trying, while Sunday represents England's first final on foreign soil after they won the 1966 World Cup and lost the 2020 Euros at Wembley.

On top of his unprecedented tournament success, Southgate can also point to a remarkable record of losing only once in 35 World Cup and European Championship qualifiers.

The former centre back is never one to blow his own trumpet but those around him and who have worked with and for him do it enough for it to be clear how highly he is respected.

"He has changed our culture within the team which is something that's extremely difficult, having players come from different environments with their clubs to feel so comfortable within everyone's company," defender John Stones said last week.

"The humility that I think we have as a team as well and the winning mentality. He's very clear in what he wants us to achieve as a team and a nation."

Southgate has already achieved a great deal more than most, even if the path to the final was far from smooth, and it would be a fitting tribute to a talented and clearly decent man if he could finish by taking that final step to the top of the podium.

Spain a relentless force

Spain go into Monday morning's (NZT) final as slight favourites over England after not only being the most attractive team to watch at the tournament but having won every match they have played.

The Spaniards have emerged as a team that can quickly adapt their strategy to their opponents without giving up their direct attacking game in favour of a results-based performance.

They outsmarted France in the semi-finals despite falling a goal behind and it took them just five minutes to score twice to take the lead with their relentless pressing game and vertical passing that forced the French to resort to long balls.

With Rodri as their midfield dynamo, a strategist matching Germany's Toni Kroos in impressive passing efficiency but with a more attack-minded approach, the battle in the centre of the pitch is expected to play a key role in the outcome.

England will have to wrestle possession from Spain, who also have the outstanding Fabian Ruiz in midfield, a player who for many is already the player of the tournament.

With lightning wingers Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal, who turns 17 on Saturday and is the youngest scorer at a Euros or World Cup, ripping up defences and able to score and provide assists, England's fullbacks will have their hands full.

Spain are the first team to win six games at a single Euros following their victory over France, up to that stage the team with the tournament's best defence.

A second successive Euro final for England and coach Gareth Southgate is no mean feat even though they had to endure weeks of criticism, especially in the group phase, for lacklustre performances and with little punching power up front.

England's defence, however, has remained solid and with the pace of John Stones and Kyle Walker, when they do get exposed, they have proved adept at scrambling recoveries.

Spanish possession

Spain's ball possession and movement will likely give England their biggest test so far and key to Southgate's side being able to stay in shape is the incredible work of defensive midfield screen Declan Rice.

His anticipation of danger areas plus his movement, strength and determination have made him arguably England's best player in Germany as he patrols in front of the back four, firefighting wherever the danger pops up.

The rest of England's midfield also stepped up against the Netherlands in the semi-finals in terms of regaining possession, with Kobbie Mainoo, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden all showing an appetite to spoil and stifle.

After their largely misfiring group stage, with two goals in three matches, Southgate will have been reassured by what he saw against the Dutch when his big names stepped up and started creating sustained danger from out wide and through the middle.

He will encourage Jude Bellingham to run hard at the same defenders the midfielder bullied en route to becoming LaLiga player of the year, while reminding Harry Kane how much more effective he was in the semi when he did his work in and around the box rather than going deep as he often did previously.

One area of concern is England's failure to be dangerous at set piece situations. Defensively they looked vulnerable in the air against a very big Netherlands team but that is unlikely to be so much of a factor versus Spain.

- Reuters