DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) – Barely a week after furious fans hurled beer cups and insults at Gareth Southgate, the England manager danced with his players in front of the team’s supporters on Saturday after a thrilling shootout victory launched them into the Euro 2024 semi-finals.
Southgate’s men defeated Switzerland 5-3 on penalties after regulation ended 1-1, with Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka scoring a brilliant equalizer following Breel Embolo’s opener.
Southgate’s 100th game as England boss was his team’s best in a shaky tournament that has seen the 53-year-old come under fire and speculation swirl about his future in the job.
“Every now and then you think ‘Surely there has to be some enjoyment in this job?’. So if I can’t enjoy that moment, then the whole thing is a waste of time,” Southgate said, on dancing with his players.
The win put England in their third semi-final in four tournaments, where they will face either Turkey or the Netherlands.
“I love the players, I love being in that moment with them. I took this job to try and improve English football. I wanted us to regain credibility on a world stage. So I can’t deny that when it’s as personal as it’s been in the last few weeks on a human level, that’s quite difficult,” Southgate said.
“But we’re fighting. We’re not going to stop fighting. And as I said, we’re in another semi-final and we’ll see where we can get to.”
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
