HE JINX IT’S ALL OVER
Southgate is sure Lions will bury semi hoodoo
GARETH Southgate insists England will lay their semi-final curse to rest.
The Three Lions, who face Denmark in front of 60,000 fans at Wembley on Wednesday, have a long history of suffering agonising semi-final defeats.
But Southgate said: “We have knocked off so many hoodoos and perceived barriers already. I feel like
this group of players will feel this is just the next challenge.
“They’ve got the mentality there. Our group are ready to go to the next step, they are excited by that challenge.”
England lost in the last four of the 1990 and 2018 World Cups, as well as the semis of Euro 96 and the Nations League in 2019.
But the signs are looking good for the Three Lions, who won an opening game at the Euros for the first time, in a 1-0 victory over Croatia, before beating bogey team Germany in the last 16.
And following Saturday’s 4-0 demolition of Ukraine in the quarter-finals in Rome, Southgate believes his stars have what it takes to put all the pain in the past and take that next step to becoming kings of Europe for the first time.
He believes England are no longer satisfied with just reaching another semi-final and has set his sights on the biggest prize and a first trophy since 1966.
The Three Lions boss added: “I guess the interesting part for us is we won’t feel totally satisfied if it’s just a semi-final.
“Maybe three years ago [in Russia], although there was massive disappointment after the semi-final, there was a feeling we’d come a long way.
“Now we’ve replicated what we did there, but that won’t be enough to fulfil the group. That’s a positive sign.”