- England will look to claim a first major trophy since 1966 on Sunday evening
- They are underdogs against Spain but Southgate has spoken of fighting spirit
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: How England fans will overwhelm Spanish support in Berlin
Gareth Southgate has delivered an emotional message to his England heroes ahead of Sunday’s date with destiny: go and fulfil your dreams.
The national team face Spain in the final of Euro 2024 tonight following a tumultuous tournament and Southgate, who is set to name an unchanged team from the side that started in the semi-final versus Holland, said: ‘I don’t believe in fairytales but I am a believer in dreams and we have big dreams but you have to make those things happen.
‘The run we have had, late goals, penalties but that doesn’t equate to us making it happen. We have to perform.
‘When you try to create dreams you need a vision to go with that. That lights a small fire. We know what it would mean (to win).’
England haven’t won a major trophy since World Cup 1966, and Southgate added: ‘We have to get this trophy to get the respect of the rest of the football world.
‘I travelled to World Cups and European Championships watching as an observer (before becoming England manager) and on the highlights on the big screens before games we weren’t in them. They only showed the finals and the big games.
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‘We had high expectations but they didn’t match where we were performance-wise. We have now.
‘Tomorrow, I don’t have any fear of what might happen because I’ve been through everything. I want my players to feel that fearlessness… If we’re not afraid to lose, it gives us a better chance of winning.’
Meanwhile, Luke Shaw has declared himself fit for England’s crack at glory here in Berlin, but is expected to start on the bench.
Kieran Trippier has started all of England’s six matches at Euro 2024 so far but suffered a suspected groin problem in the semi final win over Holland, and was replaced by Shaw at half time in Dortmund.
All 26 of England’s squad, including Trippier, trained in the team’s final session at their Weimar base on Sunday and the Newcastle defender is hopeful of keeping his place in the team.