Germany the benchmark for countries who consistently win tournaments, exclaims Gareth Southgate

Southgate was also the catalyst for the nation’s first third-place finish in a major international tournament since UEFA Euro 1968 via the inaugural UEFA Nations League in 2019 and then orchestrated a brilliant Euro 2020 campaign where he led his side to their first Euro final although Italy beat the Three Lions. They clash against Germany on Tuesday in the Nations League for the first time since the knockout stages of Euro 2020 and Southgate praised the mentality of the Germans to be consistently in the mix for silverware.

“For me, Germany and Brazil are still the benchmark in terms of countries who have regularly and consistently won tournaments. You have to respect what they have been and what they are as a country, in footballing terms. That mentality is what we're trying to create. Games like tomorrow are brilliant for us. It is exactly the kind of test we need. This will be a brilliant test of where we are at at this particular moment in time,” Southgate told Sky Sports.