Agree with that, but since when did what you deserve determine football results? When I say we were lucky its about perspective. Our media have gone mad this morning hyping Gareth up again after shitting on him only 8 day ago and TBH, we would not be here had we had to afce anyone better in the group… Not saying we would not have gone on to win without the Pen, but it was still a big stroke of incompetence that gave us a helping hand.
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Equally.
We were very bad.
We gave up 1/3 the pitch
Incredible lucky last minute overhead goal skill comes off in the last minute
We win a penalty shoot out
We score a winner in 90 minutes 45s of the game.
Press cannot spin that or make it up.
For people our age, that is some very weird shit
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There is a fair amount of rowing back by some pundit
There is a bit of a podcast battle - Lineker vs Neville. I wonder how much of the edgy punditry is a means to divert viewers onto their platforms?
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Not sure on that, look at the Netherlands, they finished 3rd in their group and got through to the Semis
I still disagree, that foot up, studs high tackle would have resulted in a free kick anywhere else on the pitch, no matter that Kane kicked the defender not vice-versa.
I said that to my partner at the time and wasn’t surprised when it went to VAR.
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England have been lucky and have played turgid, defensive football and Gareth is to blame, but if England win 90% of the population will forget that. At the end of the day it’s the name on the trophy that counts not the journey to how the name got on there…
Remember the team that inspired the chant “Boring boring Arsenal”? Pretty succesful weren’t they?
Is Southgate lucky? Really?
Semis, final, quarters, final in the last 4 tournaments would suggest otherwise.
The group games were shite across the board because the wait the qualification was designed encourages playing not to lose, not playing to win. Successfully park the bus for three games and you go through.
Before the game Southgate said something interesting. In the group games and R16 R8 there was a fear mind set in the team. Fear of getting knocked out and eviscerated by the press and social. After the Swiss game it changed to a “what they might achieve” mindset - and it showed. Foden was brilliant in the first half and was playing like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Anyway, England have got momentum, we are improving every game, the players know they can do better, that there is more to give. Spain have played well for 6 games, they have to maintain the level that they are at, arguably harder to do
I think we could win this
Fair points but in all his tournaments, list out who we played in the knockout stages… apart from a shite German side… we have certainly had some luck in the draws with runs coming to end when meeting a decent side on form…
In 21 we beat Croatia, Czechs, Germany and Denmark - thats not an easy run and even then we didn’t get beat in the final in open play
In the 22 world cup we got turfed out early on by France who when on to the finals (and only because Kane missed a pen) - quite how you can say getting the Cup holders in the QF is a lucky draw is beyond me
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“Who cares how we are playing? We are winning.”
Those words were uttered by former England centre-back Matt Upson during the Three Lions’ run to the Euro 2024 final.
Whether through luck, grit or just sheer brilliance, Gareth Southgate’s team have found a way to succeed.
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Oooo…bitter. 
Funny though 
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Great moments in life.
-@intiki was there. Play the end of the game live and then explode.
Lucky lucky people
https://x.com/MrMKimber/status/1811179990362271897?t=6lmo3sCuhJ1_rmOCQg-RYw&s=19
https://x.com/exprofis/status/1811217728885203014?t=-L4PqXapYWCT__wd74_EHA&s=19
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Steve Cooper has written an interesting piece in the telegraph about how our progress in tournaments was by design not through chance
And Southgate was there at the start with the kids - he and Dan Ashworth changed everything from bottom up
This extract was interesting
As a group under Dan and Gareth we changed everything. We stopped playing the Home Nations in the Victory Shield as England teams had done for almost 70 years. Instead, we picked the kind of opposition we might have to face as seniors – Germany, France, Spain and the best from South America and Africa. We found the most competitive overseas tournaments. We got the players used to being away from home for long periods, to knockout rounds, to penalty shoot-outs. When we won, we celebrated that achievement.
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Shame the paint didn’t dry first 
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