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Stojkovic looked to be playing psychological games by repeatedly claiming England were favourites for Euro 2024, adding: “My players can hardly wait for the match to start. We are going to be ready for the great challenge called England.”
Kane was comfortable with the weight of expectation accompanying England out here in Germany, with anything less than triumph in Berlin on 14 June likely to be viewed as a major disappointment.
“I think every tournament possesses different expectations,” said the Bayern Munich striker. “We have earned the right to be classed among the favourites. Looking at ourselves both individually and as a team, we have done lots of things well at previous tournaments but ultimately we are here to win.”
England’s recent performances have been mixed – including a desperately poor loss to Iceland at Wembley in their final friendly before travelling to Germany – but the excitement surrounding the attacking talent in this squad is arguably greater than at any time under Southgate.
He enters his fourth and potentially final major tournament as England manager with varying schools of thought still providing the narrative to his time in charge.
One argument is that Southgate deserves huge credit for changing the temperature around the England team after inheriting a post-Sam Allardyce shambles from the Football Association in November 2016, putting together the best managerial sequence since Sir Alf Ramsey. He is sometimes viewed as a manager who does not get the credit he deserves for his rehabilitation of the national team or his tournament record.
The other point of view paints him as a conservative nearly man presiding over missed opportunities in the World Cup semi-final against Croatia in Moscow six years ago, and the Euro 2020 final against Italy at Wembley, games lost after his side took an early lead before losing direction and, ultimately, both matches.
Some would say the truth resides somewhere between the two. No-one can deny the progress but the failure to get over the line will linger until England actually cross it.
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