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From paper aeroplanes to England pride - Shearer hails Southgate’s transformation

The former Three Lions captain is delighted to see an exciting young squad thriving following several eras of failure and underachievement

Gareth Southgate has got “everyone in love with England again”, says Alan Shearer, with decades of underachievement and disillusionment among supporters now a thing of the past.

Heading towards the 2018 World Cup, few Three Lions followers expected much from a success-starved nation.

Paper aeroplanes provided greater entertainment to those at Wembley than the action on the field, with England widely tipped to flop once more at a major finals after breezing through qualification.

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Southgate was, however, to oversee a stunning reversal in fortune in Russia, as he guided his side to the semi-finals, and has now booked a place in the last four of the inaugural Nations League.