Roar us to glory

enthusiasm they have for these players, not only because of the way they’ve played but how they’ve conducted themselves... they’ve been brilliant ambassadors for our country.

“Everybody can see they’re proud to wear the shirt. We came to enjoy our football and are enjoying the journey.

“The improvement and the hunger in the players is clear for everyone to see. We’ve defended well, scored in the last minute, conceded in the last minute, come through extra-time and penalties.

“We’ve made several pieces of history – the biggest win in the tournament, our first knockout win for 10 years, and our first quarter-final win for even longer.

“We keep looking to break the barriers down. It’s been a brilliant journey. We want to keep it going.”

Southgate was in the last England side to reach a semi-final, missing a penalty in the shoot-out at Euro ’96 as they lost to Germany.

The tournament spawned the ‘Three Lions (football’s coming home)’ anthem but Southgate couldn’t listen to it for 20 years after his Wembley nightmare, saying: “I would just walk out of the room.

“I don’t choose to stick it on. It’s not on the playlist, but I can listen to it. I just needed a bit of time to get over it.

“You learn from situations in life and you are stronger.

“The players have come through so many different obstacles, improved and got even tighter. That is special.

“For everyone out here following us and everyone back home – it is special.”