“Teams learn lessons from finals and defeats to achieve great things,” said English defender Kyle Walker on Monday, on the eve of meeting Italy, executioner of the Three Lions in London in the Euro final there at two years old.
“Doing what we did during this special summer, getting so close to the goal, and conceding a goal from a set piece when we had been so good destroyed us a little,” admitted the side of Manchester City, on the eve of returning to the Nazionale for a qualifying match for Euro 2024 in the same Wembley stadium.
But this experience must make the English selection grow, as was the case for Manchester City, crowned European champion in 2023 two years after stumbling in the final, according to Walker. “At club, I went to Porto, I lost against Chelsea (in the final of the Champions League in 2021, editor’s note) and two years later I won the treble (European Cup, championship and European Cup). England, editor’s note). People and teams learn from finals and defeats to achieve great things,” he said.
The England team “learned from what happened that evening and other great evenings” experienced in the meantime, extended England coach Gareth Southgate. “We are looking forward to the match tomorrow (Tuesday) because it is a high quality match, between two great teams, in a packed stadium at Wembley. These are evenings we want to enjoy.” The coach, in office since 2016, praised the stability at the highest level of his group, semi-finalist then quarter-finalist during the last two World Cups.
“We’ve been ranked in the top 5 in the world since 2018. I don’t think there’s been any other period in the last 30 or 40 years where that’s been the case. These boys constantly produce memorable evenings (…) and we want to continue to do so,” he said. England will qualify for Euro 2024 in Germany on Tuesday with a win or draw against Italy, who they beat 2-1 in the first leg of qualifying.