Gareth Southgate will have cause for celebration at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf on Saturday evening, regardless of the result between his England side and Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter-final.
With a spot in the Euro 2024 semi-final at stake, England face huge pressure in the coming days to perform much better than they managed in both the group stages and last-16 clash with Slovakia. Switzerland will pose tough opponents, but plenty expect Southgate’s side to prove their quality come 5pm BST on Saturday.
But while the nation will only celebrate if England win, Southgate could well have a quiet moment to reflect on achieving a record not matched since the days of Sir Alf Ramsay – whatever the result.
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Gareth Southgate to celebrate milestone at Euro 2024
When the first whistle is blown during England’s quarter-final with Switzerland, Gareth Southgate will have managed the national team in 100 games – a feat achieved only by Walter Winterbottom and Sir Alf Ramsay, the first two managers of the national team.
During that time, not including the result against Switzerland, Southgate has overseen 60 wins, 23 draws and 16 defeats – not bad for a manager so heavily criticised. Indeed, during Southgate’s tenure England have reached a World Cup semi-final and were just a penalty shootout away from winning the 2020 European Championship, and are currently still in with a chance of glory this summer.
Southgate will take charge of 100th England game on Saturday (Image credit: Getty Images)
When asked about the possibility of reaching a century of games as England manager in November 2023 prior to facing Malta, Southgate expressed his “privilege” at being on the cusp of something so special.
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“I know the numbers and I am aware that Bobby Robson was 95 games,” Southgate said. “If you had said to me the first time we played Malta that would be the case, I don’t know how I would have thought about that.
“It has been a privilege to take as many games as we have and we have had some wonderful experiences and incredible nights along that journey.
“I am very happy to be in with the sort of names that have managed that many games.”
