Gareth Southgate was about to have his Iceland moment – ​​then came the twist

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Remember Iceland. Remember the pain, remember the humiliation, remember the entire England team’s fear of the ball. Remember the manager’s resignation, remember the end of the era, remember it became the worst moment in the history of the England men’s team. Remember the complacency before the game and the shame after.

Now remember all that and then put at the end one of the most spectacular turnarounds in English football history.

There was something shocking, almost jarring, about the way England rescued themselves from oblivion against Slovakia, as if they had witnessed the education of Jairus’ daughter. They were a minute or two away from Gareth Southgate’s personal Iceland and all the toxicity that would surely have followed.

Then Jude Bellingham scored. Then Harry Kane. And now England are in the quarter-finals. Imagine sitting down to watch Titanic, thinking you knew the ending, only to see a superhero right the sinking ship and allow Jack and Rose to live happily ever after.

But somehow, after an evening that no one here will ever forget, HMS Gazball continues her journey into next weekend. By the end, the England players were dancing to Sweet Caroline in front of their fans, with Southgate receiving applause from the crowd, surely knowing he could hardly have come close to a tearful press conference, a painful resignation and the next return flight. .

Whatever happens against Switzerland on Saturday, no one here will ever forget those eight minutes, starting with Bellingham’s overhead kick, the lightning bolt from a clear sky, the goal to save this campaign, this manager, and turn this Icelandic redux into something very different. Wild celebrations, joyous relief, then England riding the wave of momentum in front of their own fans to take the lead through Kane eight minutes later.

The sea of ​​white shirts, who had mentally prepared themselves to boo these players and this manager from the start all the way to St George’s Park, were throwing themselves in ecstasy. England clung to extra time with courage and unity, desperate not to let their deliverance go to waste.

For much of this game, England’s fate seemed inevitable. They were destined to repeat Iceland. It would be the perfect tale to end the Southgate era, repeating the nadir that had led to him getting the job in the first place. The first time as a tragedy, the second as a farce. The last eight years would be marked by two parallel disasters, last-16 exits to unfancied opponents, both as we had our arrogant eyes fixed on the open road ahead. The inescapable sharpness was overwhelming and England’s players seemed so entranced by it that they had no choice but to knowingly navigate the iceberg again.

When Southgate arrived for his post-match press conference, it seemed surreal to see him sitting there, smiling, telling anecdotes about his motivational speech about the 1966 World Cup win, his pride in how they held on in extra time, discussing Luke Shaw’s fitness and the tactical challenge of the Switzerland game. And yet, for all the mingled joy and relief, for all the fond memories and travel plans to Düsseldorf, we cannot turn our eyes away from the reality of the vast majority of what we have all seen tonight.

Because this was essentially another dismal performance from England, whatever the supernatural deliverance at the end. Until Bellingham flew over to meet Marc Guehi’s strike, it was as bad as they had played all tournament, even worse than Denmark and Slovenia.

Bellingham’s ball, remember, was England’s first shot on target, despite dominating possession throughout the match. And the gravity of the situation should come as no surprise to anyone paying attention, because everything that went wrong in Gelsenkirchen today had been flagged by England in recent weeks. The red flags had all been there since England opened their campaign in this very city two weeks ago.

England struggled to control the ball again, struggling to break the Slovakian pressure. The image that lingers in the memory is of an England player in possession of the ball, chased by a blue shirt, seeing no options ahead of him, shrugging angrily at his team-mates who failed to come forward to retrieve the ball. It was the look of a man who never wanted the ball in the first place and who felt personally betrayed by having to deal with it, even for a few painful seconds. His only option then is to retreat, or simply give the ball away, or shout at another white shirt, or perhaps all of the above.

Once again, England had no real clearance, nor speed around or beyond Kane. Their only means of clearance was a 33-year-old right-back playing on the left wing, working as hard as possible in a position that did not suit his strengths. Once again England struggled to get around the opposition as quickly as they needed to.

One of the biggest differences between this match and the group stage was that England no longer knew how to defend themselves, and regularly looked panicked when Slovakia attacked them on the counterattack. They were vulnerable from the start and when a long ball was sent in by Ivan Schranz to beat Jordan Pickford, it looked like England were panicking and heading for disaster.

Before the match, the big questions were whether England were simply underperforming or fatally flawed, whether the good ship Gazball had indeed sunk below the waterline and whether Southgate would make the changes needed to repair it.

The answers were no, he would make only one change, bringing on Kobbie Mainoo, who at least wanted the ball in midfield. And yes, England are desperately flawed, they are still unbalanced, they are still unsure of the ball, they still struggle to create chances even when they dominate possession. None of the lingering questions about this England team have been answered.

And yet, with all the evidence telling us that the ship should be sunk, it is indeed heading to Düsseldorf for Saturday’s quarter-final. At least they avoided the iceberg of history.

(Top photo: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)