Southgate doesn’t agree England is in the easier Euro 2024 path

England manager Gareth Southgate has dismissed claims by pundits that his team has an easier path in the knockout stages of Euro 2024. Instead, he is entirely focused on the upcoming quarterfinal against Switzerland, which will mark his milestone 100th match in charge of England.

“I’m very proud to reach my 100th match in charge of England, but that’s the least important statistic at the moment,” Southgate said. “The only thing that matters is that this is a quarterfinal and my full focus is on trying to get our country into another semifinal. So, I’m sure that in years to come, I’ll look back at this with great pride, but right now, it’s the last thing on my mind,” he added.

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While England appears to have a relatively straightforward route to the final in Berlin, being in a bracket with Slovakia, Switzerland, and potentially facing the winner of Turkey and the Netherlands in the semifinal, Southgate disagrees with the notion that their path is easy. The other side of the draw includes favorites like Spain and France, who eliminated Germany and Portugal.

“This is a classic example of the drama we create as a nation, which only serves to irritate our opponents. We are up against a really strong team that is very well-prepared. Our focus is on how to win this match and how to play it in the best possible way. As you correctly mentioned, we’ve never reached a final outside of England,” Southgate said.