Gareth Southgate admits criticism 'weighed heavy' during Euro 2024 group stage but insists Three Lions 'changed' during quarter-final victory over Switzerland

The Three Lions have been one of the most talked about teams in the ongoing Euro 2024 as they received a lot of flak from their fans and pundits for their underwhelming start to the tournament. However, despite all the criticism, the team has managed to reach the semi-final - the third time in a major competition in the Gareth Southgate era.

Ahead of their Euro 2024 semi-final, manager Southgate revealed that the chastisement did harm the team in the group stage, however, things have changed now after their dramatic tie-breaker win over Switzerland in the quarter-final.

Speaking to reporters in his pre-match press conference, the 53-year-old said, "There's been a definite shift. I was really interested [because] as a coach sometimes you take a step back and you observe. One of the strengths of us over the last seven or eight years has been less fear and less inhibition. But I think at the beginning of the tournament, the expectation weighed quite heavily and of course, the external noise was louder than it's ever been.

"I felt we couldn't quite get ourselves in the right place and, in the end, what was impressive was that the players ground it out, they ground results out and found ways to win. I felt that shifted once we got into the knockout stage and definitely in the quarter-final. I thought we saw a better version of us with the ball, freer."

He added, "I'm not sure any of the messaging changed but I just felt the group changed. You're now into that moment in the tournament where it's 'what's possible, what's achievable', rather than 'what might go wrong'. That's different for players and for an athlete. So, this is now the chance to make history, which we've enjoyed doing, a chance to get to a first final not held in England - the first time England will have ever done that."

"We're trying to break new ground. That's difficult and it's complicated, but the players have responded brilliantly and the resilience that's been built."

Southgate will hope that his team make it to back-to-back European Championship finals as they take on Ronald Koeman's in-form Dutchside in the second semi-final on Wednesday in Dortmund.