England manager Gareth Southgate has defended his decisions to introduce substitutes late in games during Euro 2024. He argued that his reluctance to use his talented bench was usually because he was satisfied with the way his team was playing.

Southgate has come under fire for seeming unwilling to shake things up and bring on substitutes with enough time to make an impact during abject performances. In contrast to other big teams that have made changes much earlier, Southgate's switches have been mainly when England's backs were to the wall.

Southgate explained that there are different reasons for making changes. He said that in some games, they were happy with the way the team was playing. In other games, they made substitutions at halftime. He emphasized that they don't have a preconditioned way of operating.

Southgate also said that they are always looking at the physical freshness of the team, the balance of the team, and how the team is performing individually. They consider whether changes are actually going to improve what they're doing or not.

He acknowledged that the confidence and mindset of the team had improved after a tricky start. He said that the expectation weighed quite heavily and the external noise was louder than it's ever been. He felt that they couldn't quite get themselves in the right place.

However, he said that what was impressive was that the players ground it out, they ground results out, and found ways to win. He felt that shifted once they got into the knockout stage.

He said the players overcame difficulty and showed resilience, with a response he called brilliant. He said they have a desire to make history by winning their first European Championship.

Southgate concluded by saying that they are now into that moment in the tournament where it's what's possible, what's achievable rather than what might go wrong. He said that this is now the chance to make history which they've enjoyed doing.