England may be second favourites but the past few days have seen the emergence of a “name on the trophy” feeling of destiny, that the time may have finally arrived when a fresh story of success can be told.
As Southgate, relaxed and smiling on his final media appearance before the match, said: “We have a fabulous opportunity that we set out to achieve from the moment we left [the 2022 World Cup in] Qatar a bit earlier than we would have liked to.
“I’m not a believer in fairytales but I believe in dreams and we have big dreams. If we are not afraid of losing it gives us a better chance to win and I want the players to feel that fearlessness.”
Those of us chronicling the years of disappointment have witnessed all manner of reasons why England have had their noses pressed up against the window while other countries, most notably huge underdogs Greece at Euro 2004, have enjoyed success that has agonisingly eluded them.
In major tournament terms, past history makes the Southgate years seem like a golden era, with a World Cup semi-final, the Euro 2020 final, a World Cup quarter-final, and now this final against Spain on his CV.
It is all a far cry from what went before under his predecessors, when high hopes were dashed as England specialised in falling short.
England visibly wilted in the stifling heat of Shizuoka on the south coast of Japan when losing the World Cup quarter-final to Brazil in 2002, not helped by manager Sven-Goran Eriksson continuing to select David Beckham when clearly not fully fit – a pattern he would repeat with similar results.
The Euros in Portugal two years later was a tale of missed opportunity, ill-luck and “Roomania”, as the 18-year-old Everton phenomenon Wayne Rooney took the global stage by storm.
Rooney’s blockbuster display in the opening defeat to France was followed by two-goal performances in wins against Switzerland and Croatia transforming the silent street footballer – no interviews allowed – into a worldwide story.
Hotel bedroom phones would ring in the middle of night with outlets from around the world demanding any piece of precious information about the new young superstar. Having attended the same school as Rooney, De La Salle in Liverpool’s Croxteth district, became both a blessing and a curse for me.
Sadly it ended in more quarter-final disappointment, Rooney’s broken foot early in the game against hosts Portugal with England leading changed the course of their tournament.
England had a team groaning under the weight of world-class talent but the penalty curse struck again, as did Eriksson’s inability to fashion a balanced midfield out of Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes.