ENGLAND MANAGER GARETH has said that he never expected to lead his country into a World Cup, but is now excited by the prospect of doing it in Russia.
Southgate was promoted from the under-21 set up to guide England through qualifying when Sam Allardyce’s short reign was ended after one game in charge.
The 47-year-old has been impressive during his tenure as Three Lions boss so far, but admits he had reservations about taking the job given the circumstances.
“It’s a journey I didn’t expect or want to be on,” Southgate told BBC Sport . “I was hoping that in the last Euros the team was going to do really well and Roy [Hodgson] would still be there.
“When Sam Allardyce was appointed, I was under-21 coach and there to support him.
“I have said from the off I wasn’t comfortable with the manner in which I took the reins, but I have enjoyed the responsibility.
“I’ve enjoyed having the role and I think I was the best qualified person with the best experiences to take it at the time it came up.”
England get their tournament underway tomorrow when they face Tunisia in their opening Group G fixture.
Meanwhile, striker Harry Kane is adamant that captaining the side at the World Cup will not impact on his own game
“Whatever anyone says, my game has always been about putting the team first,” he said.
“For me, nothing changes whether I am captain or not. I make the best decision for the team – and hopefully it’s the right one.
“I feel exactly the same now as I did before I was captain. I don’t feel any extra pressure just because I’m wearing the armband. My game won’t change. Certainly my personality won’t change.
“I still look to push myself, to push other players, and I hope my team-mates can now look at me as someone they can talk to. But I’m still the same man. I haven’t changed.
“I don’t feel that just because I am captain I don’t have to maintain the standards I have set. When you are England’s striker, you have a responsibility to score the goals.”
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Brilliant stuff lads – cheers for that. Some great recommendations.
You can add A Year Till Sunday. Best GAA documentary
@Gerard Browne: never knew there was a doc on Ring, will watch for sure
@Gerard Browne: Was coming here to comment the same thing. An absolute classic. Watched it again last week. Ja is the man!
@Stevie D: John Divilly…..sin é!
@Gerard Browne: Not just GAA, one of the best sports docs ever made
@Fr Chewy Louis: it was before its time. Even a cameo appearance by Eamon Dunphy haha
If anyone has BBC 4 I cannot recommend OJ Simpson- made in America, highly enough. It’s a 5 part 30 for 30 documentaries series. It’s one of the greatest documentaries ever made- probably a bit of a stretch to put it in the sports bracket given the subjects infamy & notoriety. Part 2 is on tonight if anyone wants to series link.
@Robert O Farrell: check out a documentary called ‘madness on wheels rallyings crazy years’. Its about when car rallying turned into an arms race to make crazier faster cars in the 1980s with the inevitable banning of the particular group b class due to driver and spectator deaths. If it’s no longer on YouTube it will be on dailymotion
@Robert O Farrell: 30 for 30 are class, some great documentaries, Sole Man is a personal favourite of mine. Their podcasts are good too.
@Stephen Lyons: slaying the badger is hilarious. Hinault is meant to be the baddy as opposed to Greg lemond but hes so cool even in middle age you find yourself rooting for him
Hoop Dreams a great doc to watch on YouTube
Formula 1 drive to survive is superb
For anyone missing Irish basketball there’s ‘We Got Game – The Golden Age of Irish Basketball’. A brilliant documentary on basketball in the eighties featuring Kelvin Troy, who once kept Larry Bird to 6pts in a college game, Dave Hopla, still regarded as the best shooter in the world, and Mario Elie, who went on to win 3 NBA titles after his time in Ireland. Whether you’re into Irish basketball or not it’s a fascinating sports documentary and well worth a watch.
The gatti ward fights were unbelievable and round 9 will go down as one of if not the best round of all time
@Warren Mcdermott: two absolute warriors
The weight of a nation, a documentary on New Zealand’s 2011 world cup win is brilliant too. Surprised it wasn’t in the original list.
If you’re interested in American Sports, would recommend Foul Play, the series documenting the Ole Miss/ Laremy Tunsil scandal, and how corrupt the NCAA system is.
https://youtu.be/_Qm-P2foSE4
Great article guys. Thanks for the recommendations.
Jim Stynes – Every Heart Beats Through. Watched it on YouTube last week for the first time in ages. What an inspirational man.
@Patrick McCarron: Great shout. An incredible watch.
‘A Sunday in Hell’ free on YouTube, for cycling fans.
The Bert Trautman story on YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_RvDhsv8jjw
If you have amazon then I highly recommend the best of men, it’s about Ludwig Gutterman he created the Paralympics
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Men-Eddie-Marsan/dp/B00IWLJ3H0
@Richard Cronin: also I rather enjoyed the toughest trade
https://m.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+toughest+trade++
The 2009 Lions documentary is also available on YouTube. ROG like.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=97uxJmXMQuc
Road (2014) The story of the Dunlops and Knuckle (2011) are top documentaries
@Richard McBriar: Excellent
“All for one” also for cycling fans.
Great doco showing the team effort of a cycling team and that to a layman it may come across as an individual sport, but it is really anything but. The trials and tribulations (not to mention the funny sides) of a cycling team.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ch1m085rpU
For me it’s the one and only ringy!! ( Christy Ring) xx
‘The Names on the Cup’ brilliant documentary and ‘The Broadstreet Bullies’