EURO-2020 - Southgate: we paid a high price to get there

The expert said that when they arrived in the locker room, they were already talking about their next meeting, Saturday’s quarterfinals. It was only later that it became clear that their opponent would be Ukraine, which bid farewell to Sweden in Glasgow in an overtime.

"We did a tremendous job, but physically and mentally we paid a high price for it. First of all, we have to make up for it," he said, referring to the historic act of defeating the Germans for the first time since the 1966 World Cup final at the English World Cup final. . He added that with his quarter-final appearance in front of his team, there was a great opportunity and there is a chance to write history even further.

He explained about the meeting, they were prepared to have to be patient because under the guidance of Toni Kroos, the Germans would initially dictate the pace and control the match.

"In the duel, we wanted to put pressure on the opponent, and our wingerers did an excellent job of giving them a good base. Then we got the balance, we were getting braver with the ball, and we were leading quick counter-actions at the right moments," he said.

Harry Maguire, chosen as the best of the match, pointed out that they had to be brave without the ball and with the ball, and the opponent was not given the opportunity to easily own the ball and a lot of duel was initiated. He added that they have excellent players, but their real strength is in the team unity, which is mostly Southgate’s merit.

The English goal remained untouched for the fourth time at the European Championships - the second team in the history of the European Championships to succeed after the Germans performed in 2016 - Maguire said it was a nice achievement, but the point is still victory.

England have maintained their unbeaten track at home in world competitions since 1966 - with 10 wins and 5 draws on their balance sheets - and fought all 15 clashes at Wembley. However, he will meet Ukraine in Rome and return to London if he moves on.

The first hit by the English was scored by Raheem Sterling, who was successful for the third time in the tournament. England won all 13 matches in which Sterling scored, and the striker remained unbeaten at Wembley as a member of the national team, with 23 wins and 3 draws on his balance.

With this meeting, the German captain of the Germans, Joachim Löw, said goodbye to the small bench of the national band, on which he sat 198 times. On several occasions, only Óscar Tabárez led the team, the specialist was Uruguay's manager 219 times. Asked about his future, Löw said the time had come to find motivation elsewhere, but he had no concrete plans yet.

“After fifteen years of such hard and responsible work, there must be a break,” he said. He said of the national team, some footballers will be at the peak of his career at the next European Championships, so he expects a "more mature, more experienced and ruthless" team.

Toni Kroos, the German midfielder, said the match was balanced to the first English goal, but that changed everything.

"England had almost no position until the 75th minute. Until then, our performance was stable, but the first goal changed everything. In this match, efficiency decided," he said.

German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said they had a huge chance to say goodbye to a strong rival, but failed to score and ended up being a huge disappointment.

"Our attackers didn't know what to do with the long launches, and our cross passes didn't really work either. So we couldn't put as much pressure on the English as we planned," he explained.

The England-Ukraine quarterfinals will take place on Saturday at 9pm in Rome.

(Source: Source: sportrajongo.hu, mti / Photo: pixabay, mti)