Gareth Southgate’s England squad are under severe pressure ahead of their Euro 2024 quarter-final clash with Switzerland and the Three Lions boss has unveiled how he is keeping his substitutes motivated ahead of Saturday’s tie.
England have been very underwhelming in Germany so far and can count themselves very lucky to still be in the competition.
Southgate’s men needed a last-minute equaliser from Jude Bellingham against Slovakia to help secure their place in the quarter-final, with Harry Kane’s winner being set up by Ivan Toney, who came on late in the match having not played much during Euro 2024 so far.
Following the 2-1 victory, Southgate has revealed that he is keeping his subs motivated by using the story of Geoff Hurst at the 1966 World Cup.
“We showed the players a presentation about 1966 and how Geoff Hurst hadn’t played until the quarter-finals and the difficult route that the team had,” the England coach said via The Mirror.
?? “Ivan Toney had the hump with me!”
? Gareth Southgate explains the importance of his substitutes after their dramatic win against Slovakia
? Watch: https://t.co/ijLpOQGmrx#euro2024 | #england pic.twitter.com/M2VEDWoaHP
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) July 1, 2024
Gareth Southgate using Geoff Hurst’s 1966 story to motivate England players
At the 1966 World Cup, Hurst didn’t play in the tournament until the quarter-finals as Jimmy Greaves and Roger Hunt were picked ahead of the striker.
After Greaves picked up an injury, Hurst would come into the team and score the winner against Argentina in the quarter-finals before going on to become the first player to score a World Cup final hat-trick as England defeated Germany 4-2 at Wembley Stadium to win their only international title.
The former West Ham’s story is legendary in England but it is still an unusual way to motivate the current group of players, especially considering the lack of rotation from Southgate so far at Euro 2024.
