On the first floor of the National Football Museum in Manchester, there is a corner dedicated to what it calls ‘The (almost) Impossible Job’ of managing England.
It is a nod to the fly-on-the-wall documentary that followed Graham Taylor’s final months in charge of the national team in 1994 but it is a quote from Gareth Southgate, England’s current manager, that has been picked to distil the enduring challenge.
“In international football, you give everything for your country and play in a way you hope connects with the fans,” it reads, high on the wall.
Southgate and his teams had always managed that. Adventures to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and final of Euro 2020 forged a strong bond with supporters who had grown tired of underachievement. Southgate’s England were loved and championed. Even failures had their glory.
Euro 2024, though, has felt different. The cynicism and dissatisfaction have been notable, a fact best illustrated by the plastic cups thrown at Southgate’s feet after the 0-0 draw with Slovenia concluded the group stages. That fabled, intangible connection was diminishing in front of the manager who had spent the last eight years attempting to nurture it.
Yet here England are in another major final, the men’s team’s first on foreign soil. A penalty shootout win over Switzerland and a last-minute victory over the Netherlands have set up tomorrow’s decider against Spain in Berlin and, all of a sudden, there is a nation awake to possibilities.
From Jordan Pickford’s roots in Sunderland to Ollie Watkins’ former home in rural Devon, via Manchester, Birmingham and London, The Athletic embarked on a 48-hour road trip to test the temperature of the country.
Just what do England mean to England in 2024?
It has already been a big month for Sunderland. The constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South was the first result called at the UK General Election and the Labour MP re-elected, Bridget Phillipson, can now consider herself among the UK’s most influential politicians.
Phillipson has been appointed Secretary of State for Education in Sir Keir Starmer’s cabinet yet, improbably, she is not the most acclaimed former pupil of St Robert of Newminster Catholic School in nearby Washington.
That honour goes to Jordan Pickford. England’s goalkeeping mainstay left St Roberts in 2010, signing off with a yearbook entry that demands to be read in his thick Mackem accent. “Overall I had a mint time. IDEAL! X,” it ended.
It’s a good week for St. Robert’s alumni ❤️🤍 https://t.co/XxmU0pQ9RV
— Bridget Phillipson (@bphillipsonMP) July 6, 2024
Pickford has come a long way since then, starting each of England’s major tournament games since the 2018 World Cup as a Premier League regular with Everton, but Sunderland’s ownership of the goalkeeper does not weaken.
Landmarks around the city, including Penshaw Monument and Fulwell Mill, have been lit up red and white since Wednesday night to mark England’s ongoing progress in Germany.
“Delighted to be able to light up our landmarks and show support for the England team, especially with our local hero ‘keeper Jordan Pickford,” said Michael Mordey, leader of Sunderland City Council, this week.
Sunderland had attempted to make Wednesday’s semi-final a moment to bring its people to the streets. An open-air fan zone had been built especially for the Euros on the site of the old Vaux Brewery but incessant drizzle had left only the hardiest gathered in front of a giant screen. Thirty minutes before kick-off, heads could be counted at 13.
The Athletic retreated to the Barge and Barrel and there are few occasions that guarantee such a crowd on a wet Wednesday night in July quite like a major tournament.
The British Beer and Pub Association estimated that an extra four to five million pints would be drunk nationally in June alone and another surge is expected on Sunday. Trade body UKHospitality estimates the industry will see additional sales worth £800million ($1billion) across the 30 days of Euro 2024. England featuring on Sunday could be worth an extra £50million alone.
Sunderland’s Barge and Barrel went all in for the semi-final. Plastic bowler hats in the red and white of the Saint George’s Cross were given out and beer was served in two-pint glasses.
Fans in the Barge and Barrel celebrate England’s winner against the Netherlands (The Athletic)
Nights like these become a communal event, where joy and grief are shared. Having a local boy to back, like Pickford, only intensifies that.
There was a sinking feeling when Pickford was beaten early on by Xavi Simons. “F***’s sake, man,” laments one onlooker, inhaling pints of John Smith’s.
Then the riposte. A Harry Kane penalty and England improving until half-time, a break where one staff member walked among the crowd with a plastic bag over her head. The fortunate drinker selected at random had 60 seconds to pour as many pints as they could. Three and a half, if you were wondering.
Pickford has helped bring England this far, starring in the penalty shootout win over Switzerland last weekend when saving from Manuel Akanji, and another strong stop to keep out Virgil van Dijk in the second half of the semi-final brought cries out of appreciation. “Gan on, Jordan lad.”
Nothing like the last-minute winner from Watkins, though. Pandemonium. A cardboard cutout of Kane is held high in front of the TV, as is a replica of the European Championship trophy.
Steady on. But Sunderland, like so many towns and cities, bounced because it mattered. “F*** off Spain, we’re coming for you,” chanted one teenager snaking his way down the street in the hour after full time.
The morning after the night before and at Manchester’s National Football Museum there is a steady flow of visitors that cannot help but linger in front of artifacts from England’s greatest day.
Geoff Hurst’s red No 10 shirt from the 1966 World Cup final is there, along with the match ball and a winners medal from that extra-time victory over West Germany. A replica of the Jules Rimet Trophy is displayed, too, still gleaming.
Father and son, Rajesh and Vyom Subramanian, are here to look at history. They have travelled up from their home in London and watched the semi-final at a pub in central Manchester. The buzz was evident, even if the tournament has been a slow burner.
“The criticism has been unfair but reaching the final after those first three or four games, where the mood was completely flattened, is unbelievable,” says Rajesh.
“If you look at 2018, nobody expected anything from England. Now they do. That’s been the difference in this tournament. But now the belief is back, especially the way we have come from behind in games. I’m going to say it’s coming home. You can feel the excitement now.”
Rajesh and Vyom Subramanian visit the National Football Museum (The Athletic)
The Marks and Spencer waistcoat, shirt and tie Southgate wore at the 2018 World Cup in Russia is also behind a glass cabinet. The display notes say, without any apparent irony, that Southgate’s “stylish attire attracted admirers and copycats”.
Southgate used to be the answer but, to some over the last month, has begun to look more like England’s problem.
“Sarina (Wiegman) over Gareth!” says one message from a visitor on the museum’s Football Matters wall in support of the England women’s team, already holders of their own European Championship. “Lionesses are better than the Lions,” says another.
“We have players who are superstars for their clubs but for England they were not playing well,” says Rajesh. “But I don’t blame Southgate. I am happy for him that we got the win against Holland.”
Manchester, in theory, is where levels of support in England are among the highest. One survey this week suggested only Norwich and Bristol show greater enthusiasm for their national team and it is perhaps understandable with the personnel involved.
Kieran Trippier, England’s ever-present defender, hails from Bury on the city’s northern tip. Continue in that direction and you will soon get to Adam Wharton country in Blackburn.
To the near south, though, there is soil that gave England three of its brightest lights. Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Kobbie Mainoo all hail from Stockport, a 15-minute train journey from central Manchester.
“We may be slightly biased but we believe that Stockport is a very special place to produce talent,” said Mark Hunter, leader of Stockport Council.
Foden is Stockport to his core and on Edgeley high street are plenty that know him well — such as Paul Sivori, owner of Sivroi’s cafe, a family-run institution for the last 76 years.
“All three of them are inspirational,” he says. “The only talent that came from Stockport before them was Fred Perry. Phil’s just a superstar isn’t he? But you still see him round here.”
Cafe owner Paul Sivori says he is inspired by Stockport’s trio of England stars (The Athletic)
Sivori is of Italian descent but speaks with a broad Mancunian accent. “There’s a buzz now but there wasn’t at the start of the tournament. It was negative. We had people in here saying, ‘Same old story, we’ll get nowhere’. A lot of people have just had enough of Southgate but we’re not hearing much from them now.
“I wouldn’t be putting money on England to beat Spain, though, if I’m honest.”
A hundred or so yards away is Scissor Trim, a barber’s Foden still attends. One of his signed Manchester City shirts is on the wall. “The last time he was here we had a lot of people outside wanting a picture,” says owner Pasha Fade.
Pasha Fade, Phil Foden’s Stockport barber (The Athletic)
“Foden is a good guy, the people of Stockport love him. I knew England would win and I sent Foden a message to say congratulations. Sunday they will win.”
Stockport, or part of it, at least, expects.
Head up Cattell Road to the east of Birmingham’s vast city centre and outside the turnstiles to the Tilton Road Stand of St Andrew’s is the towering image of a teenage Jude Bellingham.
He might be from Stourbridge, 15 miles away, but this is where Bellingham, Real Madrid’s Champions League winner, became a famous face when debuting at 16 years and 38 days.
The Roost, a pub bedecked in Birmingham City images on every wall, has one of Bellingham in front of an England badge. “One of our own,” it says below.
“It’s all felt pretty flat until the last week,” says Rob Burns, who runs the Roost along with partner and landlady Holly. “We hadn’t played at all. There hasn’t been a big boom, even now. We’ll hope for a lot of people in on Sunday. If it doesn’t kick for that, it never will.”
Birmingham City pay tribute to Jude Bellingham (The Athletic)
England has not felt overly excitable until the last few days. A month of dreary, damp weather has damaged prospects of packed gardens and outdoor gatherings. People have largely stayed indoors.
A general election being held during the tournament for the first time since the 1970 World Cup has also capped the hype, splitting the news output. England lost to West Germany in Mexico back then and four days later, Harold Wilson’s Labour government followed suit. It was said the election loss owed much to the unhappiness of the “Match of the Day millions”. The country’s mood, it was inferred, could be shaped by England’s best footballers.
Burns is hopeful this will be the year for England and he has not just watched on from a distance in Birmingham. He was part of a coach load that travelled to Frankfurt for the drab 1-1 draw with Denmark in the group stages.
“There’s still more of a connection with this England team than there has been before because of how they are,” he adds. “It’s not just Jude, they seem like a set of lads who are together.
“You compare to that ‘golden generation’ of Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard. They never had what these have.
“And they get over the line. They get results. You can’t knock Southgate, he’s got us to another final. He can’t do a lot more. But either way, win or lose, I think this is his last game.”
Birmingham’s multiculturalism can be felt acutely in the streets around St Andrew’s but do not mistake that for indifference towards the national team.
A video taken on the concourses of Edgbaston cricket ground last weekend showed hundreds of India and Pakistan fans breaking from watching a legends exhibition match to watch England’s penalty shootout win over Switzerland. Rivals were united in their appreciation of this England team, celebrating together as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s decisive penalty was converted. Few things have the power to bind like football.
Scenes at Edgbaston where India are playing Pakistan but people are watching the England game.
2 sets of rival supporters united by their love of England!#PakvsInd #ENGSUI #comeonengland #england pic.twitter.com/gDuhu3wvbH
— Harjap Singh Bhangal (@HarjapBhangal) July 6, 2024
Bellingham, whose brilliant overhead kick against Slovakia kept England’s knockout adventure rolling, is a poster boy for all of Birmingham. “He’s from Stourbridge so he’s not a Brummie,” says Burns. “But when you follow Birmingham you hold on to everything you can. We’ve got a couple of pictures of him up and no doubt there’ll be more if we get a result.”
There will be a pint with Bellingham’s name on it, too.
Up and down the steps next to Arsenal’s Armoury store, located at the base of the Emirates Stadium, jogs Joel Davis.
He barely breaks sweat on his morning jog and the smile could hardly be wider when asked what an England win would mean to him and his adopted nation on Sunday night.
“It would be like Christmas times 10,” he says. “It would mean a lot. England win and everyone is happy.”
Joel Davis says an England win ‘would be like Christmas times 10’ (The Athletic)
Davis was born in Jamaica but has made home in north London. Arsenal is his team and Bukayo Saka is among his favourites. Saka has always been Arsenal’s golden boy, on the club’s books since seven, but England has fallen hard for him too.
The quarter-final equaliser against Switzerland was special but his converted penalty in the shootout brought its eclipse. Three years earlier, Saka was among the three England players to miss a spot kick 10 miles away at Wembley in the final of Euro 2020.
Racist abuse followed and then the love. “What happened last time, when he missed in the final, left him with something to prove but he’s grown,” says Davis. “He believes in himself and he’s done what he had to do.”
Sally Bowman is also at the Emirates, visiting London to watch Wimbledon and taking a stadium tour of the club she supports. “It was shocking what happened to (Saka) so scoring that great penalty in the quarter-finals was brilliant. He just seems a genuinely good, all-round guy. I’d love him to score on Sunday night.”
The Bowmans have travelled from Aberdeen in Scotland and their son, Lewis, admits he will not be backing England. An outsider can at least offer a perspective of a curious mood that has taken hold around Southgate and his team.
Sally and Lewis Bowman (The Athletic)
“They’ve had a lot of pressure on them,” he says. “Players don’t want to make mistakes in case the whole country comes down on them and it’s the same with Southgate. He’s handled that pressure pretty well again.”
London, the city that has also given England Kane and Declan Rice, is too big to ever feel consumed by one event but Sunday will likely give it a go.
The O2 Arena will welcome 15,000 fans for the capital’s biggest screening. Sadiq Khan, London’s mayor, hopes it will be “a night of great drama and entertainment”. The Shard, London’s tallest building, will also be lit up with the England flag.
London had a fan zone in Trafalgar Square during Euro 2020 but on the eve of Sunday’s final, the huge plot of space in front of the National Gallery will be repurposed for something entirely different. A stage has been erected for the BMW Classics, an outdoor summer concert led by the London Symphony Orchestra. The fountains, so often the scene for raucous celebrations, are behind high metal fences.
Khan has been criticised for the lack of public screenings but there will be reflected glories this weekend. Starmer, the UK’s new prime minister, will be among the guests in Berlin and has not ruled out a public holiday in the event of Southgate’s side beating Spain.
“If England was to win then England might change,” says Davis back outside the Emirates.
How so? “Hopefully, we’ll see more unity. We’ve got white players and Black players and hopefully, we’ll see England as one.”
Sandwiched directly in between England’s semi-final and final is a friendly date between Buckland Athletic and Torquay United on Friday night. There are more than 1,500 supporters in attendance to see the first game under Torquay’s new owners, including the club’s advisor Neil Warnock, who continues his dogged fight against retirement aged 75.
The heavens open in the hour before kick-off but the mood is incongruously cheerful in this corner of Devon that has drawn national interest ever since Wednesday’s dramatic conclusion in Dortmund.
Buckland was Watkins’ grassroots club, where he played from nine until 11, when he was awarded a place in Exeter City’s academy. Watkins’ mum, Delsi-May, continued to perform in Buckland’s clubhouse as a professional singer.
Nigel Holmes, co-chairman of Buckland Athletic (The Athletic)
Newton Abbot, just up the road from his place of birth in Torquay, was where Watkins was raised. It is a rural spot not known for crafting professional footballers and the improbability of it all has made England’s progress over the last month all the sweeter.
The club bar screened the victory over the Netherlands and erupted when Watkins collected the pass of Palmer, took one touch and drilled low into the far corner. Sunday’s final will also be shown. “We’re telling people they might want to bring their own chair,” says co-chairman Nigel Holmes. “It’ll hopefully be packed.” Local TV crews will be coming, too, on the hunt for another golden moment.
Watkins is undeniably Devon’s hero. Buckland, a mile outside of Newton Abbot, has roughly 300 children on its books and, according to Holmes, they all choose to be Watkins, rather than Bellingham, Foden or Kane. The FA asked some of the club’s junior section to record a good luck message that will be among a package played to the England squad this weekend.
“Ollie is the inspiration to our junior section now,” says Holmes. “You ask any of them who their favourite footballer is and straight away it’s, ‘Ollie Watkins!’. It’s brilliant. And you’ve got our coaches saying to them it could be you. Who knows? If Ollie can do it, why can’t you? For us as a grassroots club, it’s phenomenal.”
And that, beneath any cynicism, is what continues to attach England’s people to its national team. A major tournament still has enormous influence.
“It means everything to people round here, especially with Ollie playing,” says Holmes. “It unites people. I know it was flat to begin with but as the performances have got better and the results have gone our way, everyone starts talking about it. And you see the reaction the other night (Wednesday) and it was just incredible.
“Everyone in the country is longing for England to win something. Then it won’t always be about 1966.”
England is connected again, as Southgate always wished. Now it takes a deep breath and hopes.
(Graphics: John Bradford, The Athletic. Artwork: Eamonn Dalton, The Athletic)
