Saturday's Euro 2024 quarter-final clash with Switzerland was a memorable one for England fans, as the Three Lions enjoyed a rare penalty shoot-out success to reach the last four.
For the second successive match in Germany, England were staring at a humiliating exit. After Jude Bellingham took centre-stage against Slovakia, it was Bukayo Saka's turn to produce a rescue act.
Without Saka's heroics, Gareth Southgate's reign as England manager would surely have ended after exactly 100 games.
As it is, he'll be hoping he has at least two more to savour.
Southgate has always had his critics, but three semi-final appearances in four major tournaments under him – one more than England managed in their previous 17 – marks him out as his country's most successful manager in modern times.
As Southgate celebrates another huge win on a landmark occasion, we run through the highs and lows of his tenure.
Southgate's record
Southgate is just the third England boss to bring up three figures, after Walter Winterbottom (139 games between 1946 and 1962) and World Cup winner Alf Ramsey (133 between 1963 and 1974).
England have won 60 matches under him, drawing 24 and losing 16. His 60% win ratio puts him fifth among all Three Lions managers, after Sam Allardyce, who memorably won his only game in charge, Fabio Capello (66.7%), Ramsey (61.1%) and Glenn Hoddle (60.7%).
Saturday's shoot-out success was his 24th major tournament match at the helm. His 13 wins in such games are the most by any England manager in history, while only Ramsey (66.7%) has bettered his 54.2% win rate in World Cup/Euros matches.
The most common criticism of Southgate relates to his safety-first approach, but only Winterbottom (383) and Ramsey (224) have overseen more England goals than his 210. The Three Lions' average of 2.1 goals per game under him tops their average of 1.98 under Ramsey.
The highs
Southgate's first tournament at the helm will always be remembered fondly, as his unfancied side went within a whisker of reaching the 2018 World Cup final, two years on from the nadir of Roy Hodgson's team losing to Iceland at Euro 2016.
With Harry Kane winning the Golden Boot and Harry Maguire providing a threat from set-pieces, England made supporters fall back in love with the national team as they reached the semi-finals, ultimately surrendering a 1-0 lead in an extra-time loss to a superior Croatia side.
The standout moment surely came in the last 16 as Colombia were beaten on penalties – England's first victory in a World Cup shoot-out and just their second in seven attempts at major tournaments at the time.
Coming after a 1-1 draw with stubborn opponents with the knockout draw opening up, Saturday's victory over Switzerland shared many similarities with the Colombia win.
Southgate has now overseen three shoot-out victories, with Switzerland also vanquished in 2019 as the Three Lions took bronze in the inaugural edition of the Nations League.
And while England's only penalty defeat under Southgate came in his biggest game in charge, their run to the Euro 2020 final was another high before heartbreak against Italy.
Most memorable of all was a 2-0 victory over Germany in the last 16, England's first competitive win over them at Wembley Stadium since the 1966 World Cup final. The semi-final versus Denmark, meanwhile, brought Southgate's only major tournament win to date over a top-10 nation in FIFA's world rankings.
The lows
The Euro 2020 final was, of course, a case of what might have been for England and Southgate. Luke Shaw's early volley sent Wembley into hysterics, but the Three Lions dropped deeper and deeper, inviting Leonardo Bonucci's equaliser and going on to suffer penalty heartache.
Southgate was fiercely criticised for losing control of the final, with England's 34.4% possession share their lowest at Wembley since a 2016 draw with Spain (34.3%).
Either side of that final, England went unbeaten in 90 minutes through 22 matches, but they then endured a dismal run midway through 2022, failing to win any of their six games in the 2022-23 edition of the Nations League as they were relegated from the top tier.
The low point of Southgate's reign came in a crushing 4-0 defeat to Hungary at Molineux that June, where supporters turned on the England boss for the first time after the team's heaviest defeat under him.
England recovered to impress in the group stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but more penalty agony awaited them in the quarter-finals, albeit not in a shoot-out.
With England 2-1 down but in the ascendency against France, captain Kane blazed a late spot-kick over the crossbar, becoming the first player to both score and miss a penalty in a World Cup match since Czechoslovakia's Michal Bilek versus the United States in 1990.
With many believing this tournament will be Southgate's last regardless of the outcome, he will hope the true high point of his tenure is yet to come.
The players
Although many players have won Southgate's trust during his eight years at the helm, one man stands clear of the rest.
Kane has been Southgate's most trusted lieutenant, his 79 appearances under him (69 as captain) putting him clear of Kyle Walker (68), John Stones and Jordan Pickford (both 66).
The striker's 60 England goals under Southgate, meanwhile, are more than treble the figure managed by his closest rival, Raheem Sterling with 18. Kane (16) also leads Sterling (13) for the most assists under Southgate.
No Three Lions player has ever scored more goals for the team under a particular manager, with Gary Lineker's 35 strikes for Bobby Robson putting him a distant second.
Only three players have won more England caps under one manager, with Billy Wright playing under Winterbottom 105 times, Bobby Moore appearing in 100 games for Ramsey, and Peter Shilton 83 for Robson.
Spain 3-0 Serbia: Dominant Roja through to quarter-finals
Spain cruised into the Nations League quarter-finals after Tuesday's comfortable 3-0 victory over Serbia.
Luis de la Fuente's side eased to a routine win in Cordoba, qualifying for the knockout stages with two games to spare after Switzerland's 2-2 draw with Denmark guaranteed Spain a top-two spot in their group.
Aymeric Laporte opened the scoring after just five minutes, heading into the far corner after a well-worked corner routine allowed Pedro Porro space to deliver.
Mikel Merino's header from Alex Baena's cross was denied by the post soon after, before Spain missed a glorious chance to extend their lead after the interval.
Porro's vicious shot was adjudged to have been handled by Veljko Birmancevic, but Alvaro Morata blazed over with a disappointing 54th-minute penalty.
Captain Morata made amends just 11 minutes later, however, finishing with ease into the bottom corner after Fabian Ruiz profited on Serbia's slack attempts to play out from defence.
Further misery followed for Serbia as Strahinja Pavlovic's last-man challenge on Mikel Oyarzabal was upgraded to a red card following a VAR review, before Baena curled the resulting free-kick past Predrag Rajkovic to seal another Roja win.
Data Debrief: Unbeaten run continues for rampant Roja
De la Fuente masterminded Spain's Euro 2024 triumph, with the best team deservedly triumphing at the tournament in Germany, but La Roja's impressive run started well before that.
Spain are now unbeaten in their last 19 matches across all competitions (W17 D2), excluding friendlies, their best such streak since a 29-game run between June 2010 and June 2013 (W24 D5).
This was a typically dominant performance from the hosts, who accumulated 2.9 expected goals (xG) compared to Serbia's meagre 0.37, as the away side struggled throughout.
Spain 3-0 Serbia: Dominant Roja consolidate quarter-final hopes
Spain took a giant leap to securing Nations League quarter-final progression after Tuesday's comfortable 3-0 victory over Serbia.
Luis de la Fuente's side will need just a point from their last two games in the competition next month after a routine win in Cordoba.
Aymeric Laporte opened the scoring after just five minutes, heading into the far corner after a well-worked corner routine allowed Pedro Porro space to deliver.
Mikel Merino's header from Alex Baena's cross was denied by the post soon after, before Spain missed a glorious chance to extend their lead after the interval.
Porro's vicious shot was adjudged to have been handled by Veljko Birmancevic, but Alvaro Morata blazed over with a disappointing 54th-minute penalty.
Captain Morata made amends just 11 minutes later, however, finishing with ease into the bottom corner after Fabian Ruiz profited on Serbia's slack attempts to play out from defence.
Further misery followed for Serbia as Strahinja Pavlovic's last-man challenge on Mikel Oyarzabal was upgraded to a red card following a VAR review, before Baena curled the resulting free-kick past Predrag Rajkovic to seal another Roja win.
Data Debrief: Unbeaten run continues for rampant Roja
De la Fuente masterminded Spain's Euro 2024 triumph, with the best team deservedly triumphing at the tournament in Germany, but La Roja's impressive run started well before that.
Spain are now unbeaten in their last 19 matches across all competitions (W17 D2), excluding friendlies, their best such streak since a 29-game run between June 2010 and June 2013 (W24 D5).
This was a typically dominant performance from the hosts, who accumulated 2.9 expected goals (xG) compared to Serbia's meagre 0.37, as the away side struggled throughout.
Kane lauds 'fantastic' Tuchel but unaware of growing England links
Harry Kane remains unaware of ongoing discussions for Thomas Tuchel to take over as England manager but lauded his "fantastic" former head coach.
The England captain enjoyed a record-breaking debut season for Bayern Munich under Tuchel last campaign, before the 51-year-old was dismissed and replaced by Vincent Kompany.
Kane could reunite with Tuchel soon, however, amid widespread reports on Tuesday that the former Chelsea and Bayern boss has agreed to become England's permanent manager.
Former Tottenham talisman Kane refused to delve too deep into the capabilities of Tuchel due to the ongoing discussions, but still spoke highly of his previous experience with him.
"Until it's announced obviously I can't really comment, but we have to wait and see," the striker told Sky Sports in Germany.
"Obviously, I know Thomas well from last year. [He is a] fantastic coach, fantastic person. I am sure the guys at the FA will contact me, when they know more about it."
Kane scored 36 times in just 32 Bundesliga games last term under Tuchel, breaking the record for the most goals in a debut season in the competition.
However, that was not enough to keep the former Paris Saint-Germain boss in his role at Bayern, who parted ways with Tuchel after his side finished third behind Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart.
Tuchel still maintained an impressive 60.7% winning record across all competitions for Bayern (winning 37 out of 61 matches), a mark he only bettered with Borussia Dortmund (62.6%) and PSG (74.8%).
It may be Tuchel's cup-competition expertise that has drawn England to his skills, though, leading PSG to their first Champions League final in 2020 and winning the same competition with Chelsea a year later.
Indeed, Tuchel has managed 40 Champions League wins in 67 games, with his 59.7% winning ratio more than all but one England manager at major tournaments (World Cup and Euros) – Alf Ramsey had 66.7%.
Time will tell if Tuchel, should he be appointed, can provide a similar winning formula at the 2026 World Cup, where Kane will be delighted to work with his former boss.
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