Gary Neville believes that England can go all the way at Euro 2024 despite their unimpressive performances so far.
The Three Lions were just seconds from elimination against Slovakia in the round of 16 before Jude Bellingham equalised with a stunning bicycle kick from his team’s first shot on target.
Harry Kane then netted from England’s only other on-target attempt to seal a 2-1 victory after extra time and set up a quarter-final clash with Switzerland.
That victory followed a dismal 0-0 draw with Slovenia in England’s final group game.
Gareth Southgate’s side had earlier ground out a 1-0 win over Serbia before being held 1-1 by Denmark in another lifeless showing.
Gary Neville believes that England can win Euro 2024 despite making an underwhelming start
Goals from Jude Bellingham (left) and Harry Kane (right) helped England beat Slovakia 2-1
In his newsletter for The Overlap, Neville – who featured in 85 senior international games for the Three Lions between 1995 and 2007 – said that ‘England played their worst football of the Gareth Southgate era on Sunday night.’
However, Neville believes that the manner of the victory will have done wonders for the confidence and togetherness of the England camp.
He added: ‘Emotionally it changes everything.
‘England were one minute and twenty six seconds away from perhaps their worst defeat in history, certainly up there with Iceland 2016 and the USA in the 1950 World Cup. What happened in the next two minutes of play defied analysis based on the 118 minutes of football either side.
‘Belief is like an injection of adrenaline into the veins of footballers. When we start talking about destiny, something special happening, the name being on the cup, and once players and opponents start believing it, then something transformative happens.
‘Let’s be clear, England perform like they did against Slovakia when they play Switzerland on Saturday and they will be well and truly beaten. Switzerland are a much better side than anyone they have faced, with Serie A, Premier League and Bundesliga winners at the heart of their line up. Crucially they have something England clearly lack, which is a clear system everyone buys into.
‘But belief comes in different ways. Sometimes it comes like it has for Spain, from playing beautiful, passing, possession football with incisive wingers. Sometimes it is honed from sheer cussedness, a refusal to die.’
Neville then went on to compare this current England side to the Chelsea team that defied the odds to be crowned champions of Europe in 2012 – the same year that they finished sixth in the Premier League.
Neville has likened England to the Chelsea team that won the Champions League in 2012
Frank Lampard pictured holding the European Cup after Chelsea famously won it 12 years ago
‘I last felt like this when Chelsea had a run to the Champions League final and won it in 2012,’ Neville continued. ‘It was against all the odds. On one level, they didn’t deserve it in that they weren’t the best team in many of the games.
‘Yet sometimes football brings together a weird combination of fates, be it a bit of good fortune, or moments coming together, or the strength of personality in special individuals, whereby something just falls into your path like it was meant to be. Words can’t explain it. Sometimes a team just won’t lie down and accept their fate and refuse to capitulate to the shame awaiting them.
After claiming that losing to Slovakia would have been even more embarrassing than England’s infamous defeat by Iceland in 2016 – when Neville was a member of his country’s coaching staff – the former right back said that his heart and his head were in disagreement over how far Southgate’s men might go this summer.
He explained: ‘My head tells me performance matters, that eventually you run out of road in a tournament when you’re not creating chances. England aren’t gelling, we’re not seeing any coached patterns of play, they’re passive on the pitch and passive off it, in the lack of substitutions and interventions Gareth Southgate is making.
‘But something happened. Results matter. Whatever you say about Southgate’s subs – and no-one could understand it – Bellingham and Harry Kane were on the pitch to deliver. Is this the near-miss event that jolts them to their senses?
‘At the end of a fortnight, they still have one of the best squads here and a game to make the semi finals. They remain within touching distance of history. Of destiny. My heart is over-riding my head. This can still happen.’
England need three more wins this summer if they are to leave Germany with a major trophy
Roberto Di Matteo led Chelsea to an unexpected Champions League title in Munich in 2012
Chelsea came top of a group that included Bayer Leverkusen, Valencia and Genk at the start of their incredible European campaign of 2011-12.
The Blues then overcame a 3-1 first-leg defeat by Napoli to prevail 5-4 on aggregate in the round of 16.
That was followed by a 3-1 triumph against Benfica over two legs before Chelsea famously beat Lionel Messi’s Barcelona 3-2 in the semis, despite playing for an hour with just 10 men in the second leg.
In the final, Chelsea needed an 88th-minute equaliser against Bayern Munich to force extra time, during which Arjen Robben saw a penalty kick saved by Petr Cech.
Chelsea eventually prevailed on penalties.
If England are to go all the way in Germany this summer, spot kicks could well be crucial again.