Gareth Southgate always believed in England v Slovakia: ‘I wasn’t ready to go home yet’

Gareth Southgate said he always believed England would score the goal they needed to stay at Euro 2024 and said he was “not ready to go home yet” after saving their tournament against Slovakia.

England were seconds away from being eliminated in their last-16 tie only for Jude Bellingham – with a sensational overhead kick – to equalise with almost no spot kick in normal time.

Captain Harry Kane then headed in what proved to be the winner after a minute of extra time to book their place in the quarter-finals.

It was yet another frustrating performance from Southgate, who failed to register a single shot on target until Bellingham’s dramatic equaliser in the 95th minute.

Southgate, however, says he always had faith the team would find a breakthrough.

“I thought from the start we were going to score,” he said. “I didn’t think it would be this late. I wasn’t ready to go home yet and obviously the players felt the same way. »

Bellingham and Kane saved England (Carl Recine/Getty Images)

England will now face Switzerland, a team who have impressed hugely so far and who knocked out defending champions Italy to reach the quarter-finals.

Asked whether he would enjoy the emotion or look at things more analytically ahead of Saturday’s game, Southgate said: “Obviously as a manager I’ll do all those things, build on the spirit they showed, the belief that came from that.

“Also, I’m not naive, we’re going to face a team that has looked exceptional not only in this tournament, but for quite a while, it’s going to be a big tactical challenge for us.

“We know our level of play will have to be higher. But there was a team spirit, a cohesion that was building. We had a lot of problems to solve throughout the preparation for this camp, throughout the tournament. We put a Band-Aid on different things, we give opportunities to young players, we sort of find a solution.

“I can imagine how everyone will react to this, even though we won, but we are still here. One thing that cannot be questioned is the desire, the commitment, the character.

GO FURTHER

The briefing: England 2 Slovakia 1 – Southgate’s team copes, Bellingham to the rescue, tactical questions remain

(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)