Seconds later, he created some light controversy with an emphatic crotch-based celebration. This earned the Englishman a slap on the wrist from UEFA, European soccer’s governing body. The other part of that celebration—facing the crowd and shouting “Who else?”—was much less vulgar but similarly iconic. He explained it by saying, “Playing for England is an enjoyable feeling, but it is also a lot of pressure, and you hear people talk a lot of rubbish.” Talk your rubbish, Jude.
Harry Kane
A salt of the earth bloke who loves golf, steak and chips, and his family, Harry Kane is the face of the team. He’s also the most prolific goal scorer in the squad’s history, and has added three goals to his ledger at Euro 2024, including the extra-time winner that felled Slovakia. Kane angered a huge contingent of North London when he left Tottenham last summer to join Bayern Munich in the most expensive signing the German league has ever seen. Surely they will forgive him if he can lead England to victory on Sunday with a goal or two.
Gareth Southgate
Go on, Gareth.
Stu Forster/Getty ImagesSouthgate is England’s manager, and also one of the most curious cases in the world. Objectively, he’s been quite good, piloting the team to the World Cup semis in 2018, the Euro final in 2021, and the doorstep of a championship once again this time around. Subjectively, though, lots of people dislike his style of play, which is very conservative and far from sexy. When watching England, you typically get the sense that they’re playing not to lose rather than playing to win. But hey, it’s gotten them this far. One more win—whether it comes by a 1-0 score after yet another stoppage time flourish, or in a 0-0 war of attrition that ends in penalties—and Southgate will have the last laugh.
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