World Cup 2018: England boss Gareth Southgate reveals he can finally listen to Three Lions after 20 years

It's been the soundtrack of the summer, but for Southgate it only brought back painful memories... until now

After two decades of not being able to even listen to one bar of English football's most popular anthem, Gareth Southgate has finally relented.

A tide of national optimism has battered down the walls of his individual torment and now, despite the doomsday predictions of Alan Hansen, Jimmy Hill and Des Lynam in an intro heard by most of England over the past few weeks, Southgate is ready to press play again on the tune that charts his darkest moment.

Southgate was happy to talk about Three Lions, Baddiel and Skinner's resurgent classic, when asked about the ditty in another press conference that was so relaxed that you never would have guessed that tomorrow England play a World Cup semi-final. That said, he is hardly an expert on the song given he's spent much of his adult life avoiding it.

"I couldn't listen to [Three Lions] for 20 years, frankly," Southgate said, "so it has a different feel now. It's nice to hear people being able to enjoy it again."

And with that, Southgate struck a chord with what has been so special about his team. A team that has allowed, perhaps encouraged, normal football fans back in England able to enjoy their national team once more after years of ego, embarrassment and underachievement.

This World Cup campaign already constitutes overachievement, all realistic pre-tournament targets have been met and exceeded in one way and yet in another, a greater objective still sits on the horizon; boasting 5kg of 18 carat gold and the name of so many of their rivals - Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany - engraved in its base.

"We are enjoying our journey," Southgate said of England's campaign so far, refusing to get carried away.

"We came here to enjoy football with one of the youngest teams, the least-experienced teams in the tournament.

"We were never sure how far this team could go, but I'm proud with the style we've played, the intelligence with which we've played.

"We have dealt with pressure, with difficult times in games, been through extra-time, penalties!

"We've made several pieces of history, the biggest win for England, the first knock-out win for 10 years, the first quarter-final win for longer, and we're gonna try to keep breaking barriers down. It's been an enjoyable journey, so let's keep it going."