Matt Maher: Germany was great, but it was just a stepping stone

Following up big, emotional victories isn’t always easy. England supporters know that all too well.

While Tuesday’s win was the Three Lions first win over Germany in a knockout tie since 1966, they had managed one major tournament success against their rivals in the intervening 55 years.

The 1-0 triumph in Charleroi, during the group stage of Euro 2000, courtesy of an Alan Shearer header, was in the immediate aftermath hailed as revenge for the two penalty shoot-out defeats to the Germans in the previous decade.

And yet in the build up to this week’s encounter, that game was barely mentioned in the history of England-Germany fixtures since ‘66. Why? Because within four days of overcoming Germany, England lost 3-2 to Romania and were bundled out of the tournament without reaching the knockout stage. Shearer’s goal ultimately counted for nothing.

Similar results, considered landmark moments at the time, have come close to being wasted.

A year on from Charleroi, England famously thrashed Germany 5-1 in Munich to seize control of their World Cup qualifying group. Yet it then required a brilliant stoppage time David Beckham free-kick to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Greece and ensure the good work wasn’t thrown away.

Prior to then, at Euro 96, England’s famous 4-1 win over the Netherlands (a result which created a surge of belief similar to that seen since Tuesday) was followed by a nail-biting penalty shoot-out victory against Spain, a tie from which the Three Lions were in truth fortunate to progress.

At the very least, the warning signs are there ahead of tomorrow’s quarter-final against Ukraine, an opponent with far less pedigree than Germany but who, in practice, may prove tougher to negotiate.

Just as well, then, that England have Gareth Southgate, a head coach who has so far managed every step of his team’s progress in this tournament to near perfection. Barely had the final whistle sounded at Wembley before Southgate was urging the need to refocus, admitting he had played the role of “party pooper” in a celebrating dressing room.

Similar messages – that nothing has been achieved yet – have been echoed by players including captain Harry Kane. Saying it is easier than doing it, of course, yet if there is one thing we have learned from this tournament it is Southgate will have his team as best prepared as possible.

Though there are some who, even after Tuesday, still criticise his measured approach, you really can’t argue with the results to this point.

Could a more expansive, attacking gameplan have delivered the same success? Perhaps. But perhaps not and frankly, who cares? You won’t find too many moaning if England are lifting the Henri Delaunay Trophy at Wembley nine days from now.

In a tournament which has proven wildly unpredictable, the Three Lions have provided sanity. They have been the designated driver at the brewery Christmas party, sat quietly at the bar sipping lemonade while all hell breaks loose around them.

Granted, it might not win too many hearts among neutrals but to generations of England supporters brought up on tales of heroic failure, grinding out methodical wins is in its own way rather thrilling.

It would be wrong to dismiss Southgate’s approach as timid. On the contrary, he has shown considerable courage to stick steadfastly to his beliefs when the easy option would have been to cave to public pressure.

Southgate’s clarity of thought and the ability to ignore outside noise is what sets him apart from predecessors, who felt duty bound to include big name players and play with a certain style. One of his first big calls as boss was to call time on the international career of Wayne Rooney, a player you suspect would still have been central to England’s plans at the 2018 World Cup had Sam Allardyce remained in post.

Right from the start, Southgate has done it his way and so far it has delivered three of England’s nine wins in knockout ties since ‘66.

Achieving the 10th might now be his biggest test yet as he tries to bring players back down from the high of Tuesday and set sights on Ukraine.

Andriy Shevchenko’s team are unlikely quarter-finalists and that makes them dangerous. Their summer will be considered a success whatever the result in Rome. They are not burdened by the same weight of expectation.

The fact England, for the first time in the tournament, are required to leave the UK must also be added to the mix. The atmosphere at kick-off at the Stadio Olimpico will be markedly different to that at Wembley.

Debate is already raging about England’s tactical approach. The suspicion is Southgate will revert to a more attacking line-up, similar to that seen against the Czech Republic. Whatever he decides, the Three Lions boss has surely by now earned the benefit of the doubt?

The prize for victory would be a return to Wembley for a semi-final on Wednesday and after that just possibly England’s first appearance in a major tournament final in more than half a century.

If Tuesday might have felt like a seminal moment in the history of English football, the next nine days offer the chance to prove it was precisely that, one step at a time.