Collymore: England finally have a squad and a manager to be proud of

When Ollie Watkins slammed home the last-minute winner for England against the Netherlands in the semi-final of Euro 2024, a nation cheered with him.

It’s the first time in history that a Three Lions side have reached a major final that hasn’t taken place in England, and it marks a new dawn for English football.

Though Gareth Southgate’s side are still to get over the line in a major tournament, he has shown the way, in terms of how to get the best out of a group of players.

Calm and measured but with a steely determination, Southgate has gone about his business with aplomb, and though England started slowly in the competition, they remain one of only two teams left standing.

The smart money will be on Spain to wipe the floor with England, however, it’s just 11 vs 11 and anyone can have an off day.

Even if England, ultimately, fail at the final hurdle again, Southgate can leave the post with his head held high.

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“I really enjoyed England’s performance against the Netherlands. It was a lot more assured, a lot more assertive, a lot more aggressive. When the Dutch scored, there was always an element of ‘here we go again,’ but England got that slice of luck with the penalty. I’d be very disappointed if that was given against me as a player and I was very surprised that the referee’s original decision wasn’t upheld. Incredibly fortuitous,” Stan Collymore said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.

“After that I thought for pretty much the entirety of the match, 70 plus minutes, England were the better team.

“It shows how far we’ve come that the expectation in this tournament to date hadn’t been met, and for an England team to dominate possession of the ball against the Dutch is quite remarkable – and that may not get commented on as much as it should.

“It’s a massive vindication of the St George’s Park project, of English coaches and English coaching, and of the talent that we’re now producing.

“England used to play the Dutch and you’d think to yourself ‘how are we going to get the ball back?’ and on Wednesday I watched an English team play a Dutch team where the Netherlands players were running around wondering when they were going to get the ball back. That could be a real watershed moment for English football in many ways.

“I still think that Harry Kane is labouring a little bit, but the main positive is that we now know that another glass ceiling can be broken.

“The captain of the national team can be taken off and there won’t be any sort of division amongst England fans because there are now players coming through – like Ollie Watkins – that can provide those golden moments. That’s massive. That’s absolutely massive.

“Credit has to be given to Gareth Southgate because he said all the way through, judge him on results.

“He’s obviously been wounded by some of the personal stuff, which I think is out of order. You can criticise somebody, and we have, rightly so, because of performances, without it being personal.”

Sunday can’t come soon enough, and if England want to make history and win the first piece of major silverware since 1966, each and every player has to leave everything on the pitch.

The last thing anyone wants is for those associated with the national team to think ‘if only we could’ve done this better.’

It’s Southgate’s last dance, and a new man in charge might break up this team too.

No time like the present, Gareth…