England face Italy in their first Euro 2024 qualifier in Naples on Thursday; Three Lions have not beaten the Azzurri in Italy since May 1961; "The past is irrelevant tomorrow night because we have to start again," Southgate said in his pre-match press conference
Thursday 23 March 2023 20:21, UK
Gareth Southgate says England's recent history is irrelevant ahead of their opening Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy, which is "the type of game we've got to start winning".
The Three Lions face Roberto Mancini's men in Naples on Thursday in their first international fixture since their World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of eventual runners-up France.
England have not beaten the Azzurri in Italy since a 3-2 friendly win 62 years ago and have won only five of their 13 fixtures since the start of 2022.
Southgate acknowledged this and laid down the gauntlet for his players to get their qualifying campaign off to a winning start.
"In a nutshell, it is the sort of challenge that we've got to start to take on and the type of game we've got to start winning. We have over a period, but we've got to now consistently try to do that," he said on Wednesday.
"That said, we haven't won here since 1961, so it's another bit of history that we're trying to break down and that's a great challenge for this team because they've knocked down so many of those barriers in the past.
"I know Italy didn't qualify for the World Cup, but they still have some outstanding players and they're going to have high motivation as well. It's going to be a fabulous game.
"We don't need any more evidence of belief; they [England players] have been involved in some of the biggest matches in world football and they know the level that's required, they know they have the ability to compete at that level.
"And then the fact that whatever we've done in the past is irrelevant tomorrow night because we have to start again. We have to have the humility to work hard to qualify again and it's a great fixture for us to get that under way."
Southgate spoke about how the qualifying campaign shouldn't be taken for granted, particularly with reigning European champions Italy having failed to qualify for Qatar.
"I think what we did really well after the Euros was our first game was away in Hungary. We gave one of our best performances, I think, and our mentality from the start was really, really good," he said.
"I don't expect that mentality to be a problem, but it's a reminder that these early stages of qualifying are crucial.
"I can remember us scoring a late goal against Poland at Wembley with no fans and people would have taken that victory for granted, but it was such an important moment in in qualifying and we had several of those in our previous qualification campaigns.
"So though some of those groups looked comfortable at the end, there were plenty of nights where that wasn't the case."
Asked if the Euros represent his last chance, Southgate said: "Well that depends if we win! I think you have to be careful as a player not to assume when you're younger that this might not be your last chance as well.
"Of course you're always going to think you're going to have other opportunities but injury, form, new players coming through in your position, you can never take that for granted.
"Yes, clearly the older ones know the timescale is quite clear. But everybody else has to be mindful of that as well."
Pushed on whether he would stay if England win the tournament, Southgate - whose contract expires in 2024 - said with a laugh: "Let's hope we've got that opportunity to make that decision!"
Southgate was also asked whether the game provided the perfect opportunity for Harry Kane - who needs just one more goal to become England's record goalscorer - to put the disappointment of the World Cup in Qatar behind him.
He said: "I think we've seen that, mentally, with his performances and his goalscoring with his club, he's put it behind him, but I know he's going to have added motivation tomorrow night to come back and show everybody what he's about again in an England shirt. For us that's a good position.
"It's always difficult to compare [different England strikers] across the ages and there are a lot that I didn't see because I wasn't alive.
"But because of the goalscoring record alone, that puts him in the upper echelons of that group. He provides so much more for the team than that; his quality of passing, his vision, his touch. He's an outstanding player and we're very, very fortunate to have him."
Declan Rice also took part in Wednesday's press conference and echoed his manager's sentiments regarding the value of his captain.
"You can see every time he scores a goal how much it means to him," he said.
"Everything he does is top level and to break the record tomorrow night, if he does it, I think it'll be thoroughly deserved, with his mentality, the way he approaches the games and the way he captains our team.
"He's a real leader and a lot of us would be really happy for him."
Italy manager Roberto Mancini says England vs Italy is becoming a classic fixture, as the two nations prepare to face off in Naples.
Thursday's match will be the fourth meeting in less than two years; in the first of those four, England were beaten in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
Mancini said: "It has become a classic in football.
"I think England is one of the best team in the world. It has a list of extraordinary players. It will be quite a difficult game tomorrow. We will try to play our game, we would like to start well, and it will not be a very easy game.
"We can say we went from a great feeling of (winning) Euro 2020 to a great disappointment after not reaching the World Cup, but I believe football sometimes is like life, a bit cruel. Sometimes things that you don't deserve happen because the team did not deserve it.
"Nevertheless during this time we managed to qualify twice to the final stage of the Nations League. It might seem not important but it is.
"We can't say the team was not good. It was an unlucky moment. We made mistakes probably, but now we start over, we have forgotten the disappointment, we must restart with the same targets."
