England Fans Are Lining Up To Apologise For Ever Doubting Gareth Southgate

You can't please all the people all the time - but plenty of England fans are lining up to apologise for ever doubting Gareth Southgate.

The England boss has just guided the Three Lions into the semi-finals of Euro 2020 but came in for stick from some sections of support in the early stages of the tournament for what fans felt were negative tactics, particularly after the dour 0-0 draw with Scotland.

However, after the last-16 win over bitter rivals Germany was followed up by Sunday's resounding 4-0 quarter-final over Ukraine, it seems many of those critics are now happy to eat humble pie.

Southgate told England fans to get on the beers and party hard after the victory over Ukraine.

"I know what will be happening at home and that's great - beers in hand, in the air," he said.

"They should do that, they should enjoy. Party hard - well, within the rules.

"It's been a long year for everybody. I'm chuffed that the performances have brought so much happiness to people.

"It's fabulous for the country. A semi-final at Wembley everyone can really look forward to that.

"But we want to go a step further, two steps further."

England will face Denmark in their semi-final at Wembley on Wednesday. The winners will play Spain or Italy, who meet on Tuesday.

Captain Harry Kane's two goals against Ukraine came after he broke his tournament duck with his strike against Germany.

"What a great performance in a big game," he said.

"We were favourites. There was a lot of pressure and a lot of expectations. The performance was top drawer. Another clean sheet, four goals - it was a perfect night for us.

"Now it's about getting over the line - the next step that we have got to do on Wednesday.

"The job isn't done yet. There's a lot more football to play."

Topics: England, Gareth Southgate

Thomas Harvey

@tom_harvey_