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He is following the Euro 96 blueprint set by Terry Venables as his Three Lions side continue to make recent England teams look faded by comparison.
That’s the view of Darren Anderton, who played a key role as England reached the semi-finals of the European Championships on home soil 22 years ago.
Southgate has made no secret of the admiration he has for Venables.
The environment created by the current England boss – who has won plaudits, as well as matches, in Russia this summer – is very much based on the one he enjoyed under the former Tottenham manager back in 1996.
And Southgate’s former international team-mate believes Venables’ influence is very much at the forefront of English thinking at this World Cup.
“Gareth is very calm and Terry was too,” Anderton said. “That shows he has a belief in this team.
“I was working in Singapore for the first game and, after the Tunisia game, people were saying, ‘We need to change this, we need to bring this player in’.
“I said that was the last thing we should do.
“In our first game of Euro 96 [a 1-1 draw with Switzerland], we were hopeless.
“We were great for the first 30 minutes and then we went back into our shells and the crowd became nervous.
“I came in on the Monday thinking that I had gone from being a dead cert to play to being a likely candidate to be dropped.
“Terry kept the same team – he didn’t panic.
“He just told us it was an off day. He had been building for two to three years and he believed in the team he had built and the players he had faith in. You can have off days.
“I was really pleased to see the team that Gareth picked for the second game against Panama, because you need to keep a team together – it’s the biggest thing in a major tournament.”
A settled England side in the early stages of the tournament provided the basis for England to qualify with considerable style.
The freedom given to Jesse Lingard and the marauding John Stones and Harry Maguire is in contrast to the straitjacket that has strangled creativity in the past.
Again, Anderton credits Southgate with adopting the same approach that enabled players such as Paul Gascoigne, Steve Mcmanaman and himself to flourish at Euro 96.
“It’s great to see,” he said. “I’m very biased towards the period I played in. But in 1996 and even the World Cup in ’98, the kind of football we played is something that people remember.
“I think that’s the key for what Gareth has been building towards. He has looked back at that time and got that style back.
“Under Sven-goran Eriksson, Fabio Capello and Sam Allardyce – it was all route one, which was not great football, not enjoyable to watch.
“Of course, it’s a results business, but it’s very frustrating.
“To have a game plan, which obviously Gareth does, and a team that plays with freedom, is the biggest thing for me.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that over the past 20 years we’ve had players who have had incredible talent.
“To not give them the freedom to express themselves on this stage is criminal, I think.” Times are changing. Southgate’s England – with a little help from Venables and the past – can look forward with the kind of optimism that almost ‘brought football home’. AN Dav scored i previou against win in t