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2 months ago
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Mail Sport's Football Editor and It's All Kicking Off podcast host Ian Ladyman offers the perfect scene setter for tonight's match.
He notes that while it is the third semi-final in four tournaments for England under Gareth Southgate's management, the mood feels different now.
Ladyman suggests we are now approaching the end of the Southgate eta, with gratitude to the England boss having eroded and a sense of entitlement having returned.
'There will be no free pass for Southgate and his players if they lose tonight,' Ladyman writes.
'They haven’t played well in Germany, haven’t scored goals and haven’t entertained. They have muddled through.
'Once upon a time that would have been enough, but not any more. So here in Dortmund it will be death or glory for England.'
READ MORE:
IAN LADYMAN IN DORTMUND: They are six summers old now, but some of the images from the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup in Russia remain fresh in the mind.
English (US)