Winning for Gareth Southgate ‘top of the list’ for Kyle Walker

Kyle Walker insists winning the European Championship for manager Gareth Southgate is “at the top of the list” of reasons he wants to help England to victory over Spain in Sunday’s Euro 2024 final.

Southgate has been widely criticised throughout the tournament in Germany, with former England striker Gary Lineker calling the team “s***” and disgruntled fans jeering the players off and throwing empty beers cup at the manager following a goalless draw with Slovenia.

Yet, despite such an unstable backdrop, Southgate has led England into back-to-back Euros finals and they will now be aiming to go one better than the shoot-out loss to Italy three years ago.

He also took the nation to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and guided England to third in the FIFA rankings, matching their highest ever position.

Asked how much it would mean to win the final for Southgate as well as their friends and family, Walker told BBC Radio 5Live: “I think that’s probably at the top of the list.

“We do it for the group of people who have been here, who have sacrificed six weeks. And that’s not just the players because it’s an honour to play for the country.

“The media have written us off, said we’ve not done this, we’ve not done that. I’ve seen certain quotes from certain players saying we haven’t got the heart and we just rely on certain individuals. That gives us fuel because we’re not individuals, we’re a team.

“It’s not just for the set of lads, the group of people that are here. It’s for Gareth, the fans and everyone associated with this country.

“I think this bunch of lads, and especially since Gareth and Steve (Holland) took over, we’ve been very fortunate.

“As an England fan myself, and watching all the past teams where they’ve been knocked out in quarter-finals and stuff like that, to enjoy what we’ve enjoyed in the semi-final and two European Championship finals, it’s a great achievement both for the team and the management staff.”

Walker is keen to use his experience at Manchester City which saw Pep Guardiola’s side lose the Champions League final in 2021 before bouncing back to lift the trophy two years later.

“In a Manchester City shirt, we got to the final in Porto against Chelsea, lost that, and then to go and win it in Istanbul,” he said.

“So hopefully we can follow in the footsteps as I’ve done in the past where we’ve got to a final, we’ve got close, and then this time we go that one step further.

“But we have to give credit, it’s a very, very tough Spain team that have played outstandingly well throughout the tournament, and we have to show them that level of respect.

“But I feel that we’re finding the right groove at the right time, and that’s what’s key in tournaments. I think if you have been there before, you’ve experienced that walk out, walking past the trophy and you’ve experienced the emotion… we have to deliver on big occasions.”

Walker will win his 90th cap in Berlin and, despite having twice been talked out of international retirement by Southgate, is now targeting a century.

“It’s been some ride, I can tell you that,” he added.

“From getting my first cap under (Fabio) Capello to my 90th cap in a European Championship final, it’s something special.

“Obviously, as an achievement, personally for myself, would be to get to 100 caps. I’ll plan it after that game but my visualisation, personally, is to get to 100 caps because not many players have reached that milestone.”