Gareth Southgate - cautious? His courage has taken England all the way to the Euro 2024 final, writes SAMI MOKBEL

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Those who have Gareth Southgate down as a cautious manager would do well to consider his body of work here in Germany.

Exhibit 1: playing Trent Alexander-Arnold — a right back — in central midfield. An experiment, albeit a failed one, that reeked of invention.

Exhibit 2: handing 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoo a place in his team for the knockout stages of the tournament. Some call, given his youth.

Exhibit 3: changing systems midway through the tournament. A tactic not for the fainthearted but one Southgate took anyway knowing full well the consequences if it backfired.

Hardly the decisions of a reactive coach, although there are those who simply won’t be told otherwise.

Gareth Southgate's courage has helped England reach the final despite being called cautious

England are one victory away from ending 58-years of hurt when they meet Spain on Sunday

He has made big decisions in the tournament such as playing Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield, and handing Kobbie Mainoo (pictured) a place in his team for the knockout rounds

Southgate has identified weaknesses in his team’s approach and acted accordingly. Isn’t that what good managers are supposed to do?

The end result, a second successive European Championship final.

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It’s been fashionable to pillory Southgate for his perceived shortcomings. Any tactical successes on the pitch are attributed to his No 2 Steve Holland, who is widely recognised as one of the leading strategic minds in English football.

Southgate’s team selections are ripped to shreds by fans and critics, generally for being too defensive.

Then there’s the constant critiques aimed at his substitutions, or as many believe — a lack thereof. Either too late, or not enough of them.

Exhibit 4: Ollie Watkins on for Harry Kane in the semi-final versus Holland. The rest is history.

Exhibit 5: Kane has been substituted in four of England’s six matches here. Unthinkable in previous tournaments.

It is beyond doubt that Southgate has impacted matches with his changes.

The decision to bring on Ollie Watkins against the Netherlands worked wonders for England

Harry Kane has been substituted in four of England's six games - unthinkable in the past

Cole Palmer has been a major threat coming off the bench, culminating with his pass to set-up Watkins’s euphoric winner in Dortmund.

Ivan Toney’s contribution in the last-16 match against Slovakia was crucial, before scoring in the shootout win over Switzerland six days later.

Eberechi Eze, too, played a key role in the victories over the Slovaks and Swiss.

Southgate’s team selections and in-game decisions have been under scrutiny as never before amid a frenzy of supporter discontent during the early stages of the tournament.

Mail Sport has successfully predicted all six of Southgate’s tournament starting XIs so far and are well placed to provide an insight into the machinations behind his decisions.

The key to his methods are simple: faith. A wavering faith in who he believes are his best players.

From the six matches so far, Southgate has made only four personnel changes.

Mail Sport has successfully predicted all six of Southgate’s tournament starting XIs so far 

One of those was enforced, Ezri Konsa for the suspended Marc Guehi for the quarter-final against Switzerland.

The other was Guehi’s return to the team in place of Konsa for the game against the Dutch.

Southgate has stuck with his core group through thick and thin. What’s wrong with that?

There have been calls for Southgate to drop Kane — yet there’s every chance the England captain will finish the tournament with the Golden Boot.

Assertions that Bukayo Saka hasn’t looked fit were dealt with emphatically against Switzerland. And Phil Foden’s sublime display against the Netherlands finally reduced his critics to silence.