"He needs to be given the respect he deserves" - Rio Ferdinand hails Gareth Southgate after England's Euro 2024 SF win
Rio Ferdinand hailed England national team coach Gareth Southgate after his squad defeated the Netherlands to qualify for the Euro 2024 final. The semi-final clash ended in a 2-1 score on Wednesday (July 10) at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany.
England, along with Denmark, Slovenia, and Serbia, were sorted into Group C for this year's tournament. The Three Lions topped the group with five points by winning one match and drawing two. They beat Slovakia 2-1 in the Round of 16 and followed it up by defeating Switzerland 5-3 on penalties in the quarter-finals.
Despite the victories in this year's tournament, Gareth Southgate has received criticism for his decisions with the squad and their performance. Following the win against the Netherlands in the semi-final, Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand backed the 53-year-old English manager and said (via @FIVEUK on X):
"Southgate needs huge flowers, he needs to be given the respect he deserves. In this tournament, he has got every single substitution correct. Every game he's made a substitution, the player has come on and impacted the game, from the first game to the last two-three minutes of this game."
The Three Lions are pitted against Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday (July 14) at Olympiastadion Berlin. They were runners-up in the UEFA European Championship in 2021 and finished third in 1968 and 1996 but are yet to claim their first title. La Roja have won the championship thrice — in 1964, 2008, and 2012.
England head coach Gareth Southgate on his squad's performance in Euro 2024 semi-final
The Three Lions head coach Gareth Southgate shared his opinion about his squad's performance in the Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands. In the post-match conference, the former Aston Villa manager said (via @SkyFootball on X):
"I thought our performance with the ball was EXCEPTIONAL."
Speaking about midfielder Phil Foden, the 53-year-old manager said:
"That is as well as Phil Foden has played in an England shirt. He had a HUGE, huge influence on the game."
Southgate also praised 19-year-old Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo and said:
"All of his performances have been exceptional."
With the Euro 2024 final qualification, Gareth Southgate became the first coach to lead the Three Lions to two major tournament finals while also being the first to take the team to a final outside of England.