Gareth Southgate says England are ready to end their semi-final hoodoo this week by making history and reaching their first final since 1966. Denmark stand between England and their second ever final, having fallen at the penultimate hurdle at major tournaments on four occasions since winning the World Cup in 1966. “We’ve knocked off so many hoodoos or perceived barriers already and I feel like this group of players will feel this is just the next challenge,” the England manager said. The former defender now has more knockout wins than any England manager in history and will go looking for another in Wednesday’s semi-final bolstered by a boisterous partisan crowd of 60,000-plus. Southgate says going through “real-life experiences together” such as the sickening racism experienced in Montenegro and Bulgaria has helped to bring the group together.

Source: Irish Independent July 04, 2021 22:06 UTC