For the majority of Euro 2024, England have been poor, yet through grit and determination they find themselves on the brink of making history and winning their first piece of major international silverware since 1966. Despite all of the criticism he has gotten, Gareth Southgate is undeniably one of the greatest managers that the country has ever had, and if he were to win on Sunday, then he would be number one.

Serbia 0-1 England

England’s campaign started off promisingly, with the Three Lions taking an early lead thanks to a Jude Bellingham header. In the first half against the Serbs, the attacking flow from England looked smooth and it promised great things for the tournament.

🚨🥇 UEFA Player of the Match for England vs Serbia: Jude Bellingham.

ℹ️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jude has already got 12 MOTM Awards for Real Madrid this season. pic.twitter.com/457svkuecn

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 16, 2024

However for the second half, England came out completely differently. Southgate must have changed up the tactics because all of a sudden they were defending deep and really struggled to get out of their half. Luckily the Three Lions managed to hold on for all three points but England fans were left feeling as if the team could have done more especially when they saw what the other big teams such as Germany and Spain were doing in their opening fixture.

Denmark 1-1 England

Southgate’s men travelled to Frankfurt for their second game, where they faced Denmark, who were the strongest team in their group. Once again, England scored early, with Kyle Walker capitalising on a defensive mistake from the Danes to set up Harry Kane for his first goal of the tournament. Denmark were able to respond quickly however, with Morten Hjulmund finding the bottom corner from 25 yards.

The second half was very similar to the second half against Serbia, as England struggled to get on the ball and make anything happen. In the end it was Denmark who were unlucky not to get three points, and England fans were left angry and disappointed at the performance.

It was at this point that fans were demanding changes. Phil Foden had provided very little off the left hand side and so many wanted to see someone else, like Anthony Gordon, play there instead. Similarly, there were calls for Bukayo Saka to be dropped despite the fact that he had been England’s most creative threat in their opening two games.

Just a friendly reminder

Goals and assists for England:

Saka 18
Foden & Palmer 6

MOTMs for England

Saka 11
Foden & Palmer 0 pic.twitter.com/7yY0tuf98P

— ⚡️ (@clinicalkai) July 12, 2024

England 0-0 Slovenia

Southgate changed nothing for England’s final group game against Slovenia, and perhaps unsurprisingly the performance didn’t change either. I described it in my article as the most boring 90 minutes of my life, and I don’t think it was much of an exaggeration. There was nearly nothing to write about this game apart from the fact that it made England fans even more angry and impatient with the way their team was playing.

England 2-1 Slovakia

I think it is fair to say that everyone in England will remember this game for years to come. England started the game where they left off in the Group Stage and conceded in a poor fashion, letting Ivan Schranz in behind. As the clock ticked closer to 90 minutes, England fans started to leave the stadium, despite the team pressing forwards. Declan Rice hit the post from range with 10 minutes to go and Kane was unable to convert the rebound. It was at this point that many gave up hope.

What happened next will go down in English football history. I had already begun to write my article for the game, titled: “The top 5 most painful England results”, when Bellingham pulled an entire nation out of the pits and onto his back. A long throw from Walker was flicked in by Marc Guehi and Bellingham decided to go for the audacious with an overhead kick. With just 90 seconds left in additional time, England were level and back in the tournament.

Jude Bellingham has scored 5 goals after 90 minutes this season. In each of the games, his team has gone to win the match:

90'+5 ⚽️ vs. Getafe
90'+4 ⚽️ vs. Union Berlin
90'+2 ⚽️ vs. Barcelona (a)
90'+1 ⚽️ vs. Barcelona (h)
90'+5 ⚽️ vs. Slovakia

Clutch player. 🚲🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/Uqm8sN44LU

— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) June 30, 2024

It didn’t take long in extra-time for England to find a winner. A miss-hit shot from Eberechi Eze was headed across goal by Ivan Toney, and Kane was well placed just six yards out to give England the lead. It might not have been pretty, but England had made it to the Quarter Finals.

England 1-1 Switzerland (5-3 Pens)

Southgate decided to change shape for the Quarter Final to a three man defence. With Keiran Trippier moved further up the left hand side, it allowed Foden to move into a more central position, which is where he performs best. However this did not solve the issue of getting the ball in the back of the net and it was Switzerland who took the lead in the 75th minute with Breel Embolo. The Swiss had made changes 10 minutes before the goal and took control of the game. Social media was flooded with angry England fans asking why Southgate had waited so long to make substitutions and immediately after the goal, he did.

Just five minutes later England managed to equalise. Bukayo Saka scored what is now becoming a trademark goal, cutting in from the right hand side before firing into the bottom corner from outside the box. The goal sent the game into extra-time, and apart from a long range effort from Rice and a couple of half chances for Switzerland, the game looked destined to go to penalties.

In what was a surprising, yet welcome turn of fate, England scored all five of their penalties. Jordan Pickford was able to save one Swiss strike from 12 yards and so when Trent Alexander-Arnold blasted his spot kick in, England were through to the Semi-Final of Euro 2024.

🚨🥇 UEFA Man of the Match for Switzerland vs England: Bukayo Saka. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

“It was special. Last time we had a penalty shootout at the Euros, we all know what happened”.

“I have faith in God to come back from something like that. Today, I took the chance and I'm happy”. pic.twitter.com/TnUyLGeTnV

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 6, 2024

Netherlands 1-2 England

On paper, the Netherlands were the strongest side that England had to face up until that point. Southgate kept the same formation for this game, hoping for a similar result to the one against Switzerland, but it didn’t even take penalties for the Three Lions to overcome the Dutch. Xavi Simons scored the opener after just seven minutes, robbing Rice in midfield before letting fly past Jordan Pickford.

England were not going to just sit back however, and equalised soon after thanks to a Kane spot kick. There has been much talk around whether or not a penalty should have been awarded but if the challenge had happened outside of the box, then it would’ve been a freekick, so I don’t think the referee was wrong to award it. It was harsh, but perfectly justifiable.

From that point, the game was very much back and forth. England had more chances and more possession, but the Netherlands were still a danger on the counter attack, and forced Pickford into a few saves. With the full time whistle approaching, Southgate brought on Ollie Watkins, who had only played a few minutes in the tournament before this game. As the clock ticked into added time, Cole Palmer, another substitute, played Watkins through, and the Aston Villa striker fired a perfect shot through the legs of Stefan de Vrij and past Bart Verbruggen in the Dutch goal, sending England to their second consecutive Euros final.

WE HAVE DONE IT 🤩

The #ThreeLions have reached the EURO final for a second time in a row… and in our history! pic.twitter.com/PrennWwZZF

— England (@England) July 10, 2024

Spain vs England

Spain may be the favourites for the trophy, but the Three Lions shouldn’t be ruled out. They have grown into this tournament and are defensively solid. They always perform better against teams that don’t sit back, so I could see an upset happening here. Only time will tell whether this England team can make history, but they’ll certainly give it a go.