October 5, 2017 – a night Gareth Southgate often references. A night to forget for a myriad of reasons, but one the England head coach finds difficult to erase from his mind.
Wembley’s hallowed turf was used as a makeshift landing strip that toxic evening; bored spectators took to pelting England players with paper airplanes in search of absolutely anything else to occupy their time than watch what was unfolding in front of them.
Jeers reverberated round the national stadium as England edged past Slovenia, Harry Kane scoring a last-minute winner – by which point Wembley was already half-empty.
England boss Gareth Southgate can reflect on a job well done after beating San Marino 10-0
England will head to the World Cup next year knowing their is reasonable hope of glory
The mood around the side is a far cry from 2017, when England fans threw paper airplanes onto the pitch during a match against Slovenia at Wembley
A night etched in Southgate’s psyche, a night entirely symbolic of the nation’s attitude towards the England football team back then. Disinterested and uninvested.
As he huddled round national newspaper reporters in the Wembley tunnel area after that depressing encounter, Southgate challenged his team – which included Kane, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson, Kyle Walker, John Stones and Marcus Rashford – to rise to challenge of overcoming those hostilities.
There appeared little hope of that at time. Heading into the World Cup, no-one gave England a chance.
In fairness, why would they? Failure, often embarrassment, had become the rule rather than exception at major tournaments.
But then came the unforgettable summer of 2018. The public’s faith was restored, the severed connections between the team and its supporters had been repaired – thanks in no small part to Southgate, who led England to a fourth-placed finish in Russia.
Harry Kane played for England that night against Slovenia, scoring a late winner
Southgate tapped…
Source : dailymail
