Southgate: England Euros win can bring ‘happiness to our nation’
Gareth Southgate has said he hopes England’s footballers can bring “happiness to our nation” by winning their first major competition in almost 60 years.
The Three Lions manager also said a victory would bring “credibility”, as the King, the Prince of Wales and the Prime Minister threw their support behind the team ahead of the Euro 2024 final against Spain in Berlin on Sunday evening.
The men’s side have never won a European Championship, with the World Cup win in 1966 their last and only major silverware.
Asked what it would mean to win a trophy, Southgate told England Football, the team’s official website: “We’d be bringing happiness to our nation, bringing credibility.
“I think we’ve brought credibility back to English football in terms of how we’re viewed around the world in recent years.
“To win a trophy would ultimately answer a lot of the questions that are still posed.
“For the group of players and staff, and also the players who have been with us for the past six or seven years, I’d be hugely proud of them.
“There are a lot of people who haven’t got enough credit and that would all come together in my head.”
William, who will attend the match, said in a social media post on Saturday: “We are so proud of you all England, just one last push to finish the job!
“Go out there and show the world what you’re made of. We believe. W.”
The prince, who is president of the Football Association (FA), attended England’s quarter-final victory over Switzerland a week ago and the group stage game against Denmark, and was seen cheering in the stands.
His father, the King, also commended the team after their 2-1 semi-final win over the Netherlands on Wednesday but quipped that they should avoid more last-minute drama.
In a message to Southgate’s side, Charles sent the players the royal family’s “very best wishes” and “warmest congratulations”.
He added: “If I may encourage you to secure victory before the need for any last minute wonder goals or another penalties drama, I am sure the stresses on the nation’s collective heart rate and blood pressure would be greatly alleviated!
“Good luck, England.”
Sir Keir Starmer suggested there would be some form of celebration if England wins.
The Prime Minister, who is attending the match, has refused to commit to an extra bank holiday if the team secures victory, saying he did not want to “jinx anything” by pre-empting the result.
England fans have paid thousands of pounds, travelling by air, road and rail to Germany to be at the match.
On Saturday afternoon, some of the supporters who had made the journey to Berlin were enjoying a drink in Breitscheidplatz, which has been allocated as a meeting point.
Alfie Bray, 21, a mechanical engineer from Birmingham, had flown from London to Frankfurt and got the train to Berlin.
He and friend Callum Williams, 21, booked travel to the city as soon as the second goal was scored in the semi-final.
Martin Rafferty, 44, from Birmingham, said he and friends had driven for 15 hours to reach the city despite not having tickets for the final.
He said: “We’re going to go to the fanzone to watch it.
“It could be a chance of making history tomorrow.”
Tony Rudd, 37, made a journey of 26 hours to get to Berlin from his home in Darwin, Australia, costing about £4,500.
He said: “I made a last-minute decision. I went ‘I’m going’.”
Tommy Swift, 44, and nephew Michael Swift, 22, from Hartlepool, County Durham, said they travelled to Berlin on plane, train, tram, foot and scooter.
Tommy Swift said they booked the travel three weeks ago because they had faith in the England team but had not got match tickets yet.
He said he had a budget of up to £2,000 for the tickets, saying: “We know what we have to pay.”
He added: “It might never happen again. I hope that it does finally come home, we’ve waited a long time.”
Pubs and bars across England will be allowed to stay open until 1am on Monday morning.
British Beer And Pub Association chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “On what promises to be a hugely exciting day for the country we expect an incredible 10 million extra pints to be poured in our pubs this Sunday to toast England’s Euros final.
“A huge £48 million in additional trade for pubs and breweries will be generated by fans across the nation.”
Trade body UK Hospitality said England’s performance in the tournament would see the entire sector benefiting from an overall sales increase of £800 million.
Much of England will see sunny spells before and during the match, with highs of 24C in southern and central areas of the country.
Supermarket chain Lidl said it anticipates that beer sales will increase by more than 35% due to the combination of sun and football, while Tesco expects to have sold four million packs of beer and cider over three days.
Aldi anticipates selling 37 beers every second in the lead-up to kick-off, saying it expects 3 million packs of crisps to fly off its shelves and pizza sales to jump 50%.
Meanwhile, airlines British Airways and Iberia announced that they will livestream the match to passengers during flights.
It is the first time the men’s side have reached a final outside England after playing the 1966 World Cup final and 2021 Euro final at Wembley.
Published: by Radio NewsHub