The attitude of Gareth Southgate and his England team has been a joy to watch

Millions watched the team beat Ukraine 4-0, and hopefully many of them saw the manager’s post-match remarks too, writes Chris Stevenson

England manager Gareth Southgate applauds the fans after the Euro 2020 quarter-final against Ukraine (PA)

The figures show that 20.9 million watched England put four goals past Ukraine on Saturday – with the BBC saying there were also 5.2 million streams across the iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

That TV audience was an 81.8 per cent audience share, not bad for a weekend. And it is likely to leave many of us with a similar feeling (if you are a fan of the team) – joy, with some tiredness mixed in.

The Euro 2020 tournament has offered a chance for the country to release some of the emotions that have been pent up because of the efforts that have needed to be made during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some have been concerned about the state of the celebrations, while in a lovely piece, Ed Cumming has summed the feeling as one that is a little strange. This isn’t how it is supposed to feel supporting England – we are used to disappointment.

One thing that has appeared to elicit near-universal support (beyond winning games) is the dignified way England manager Gareth Southgate has conducted himself. During his post-match interview, one of his first answers was about how he felt for the players he had to leave out of the squad for the game – and praising the togetherness of his players.

While you would expect a manager to say it, when it is added to Southgate’s thoughtful answers about his players taking the knee before games and his stance that players should be given “the confidence to stand up for their teammates and the things that matter to them as people” – it adds up to something more substantive.

It has been deeply impressive – and certainly offers a model for those watching the games to follow. Here’s hoping we get to see more examples as the tournament winds towards its conclusion. Such positivity has been a real asset this summer, in difficult times.

Yours,

Chris Stevenson

Voices editor