When Gareth Southgate's players came to receive their red legacy number caps at St George's Park this week, they gathered in the auditorium to watch a video that goes to the very heart of an approach their manager believes will define the national team for years to come.
It was designed to convey to them something bigger than how they might beat Croatia, or even progress to the latter stages of Euro 2020 – instead it was about what it meant to play for England. Next year will mark 150 years of the national team, which has so far encompassed 1014 games, 1262 players and one trophy. The question that has been asked often by Southgate in meetings and discussions at the Football Association is a simple one. Do English footballers have a concept of what it means to play for England? Does anyone?
The video was not intended as a stern reminder of the great traditions of warm beer and stiff upper lips. Instead it tried to place the players' current experience in the context of all that history, to explain a theory that Southgate has adopted on the development of a strong team culture. He has done so with Ian Mitchell, the team's psychologist; Bryce Cavanagh its head of performance and the consultant Owen Eastwood. The latter is an expert in developing team cultures whose recent book Belonging, Southgate has referenced in his most in-depth pre-tournament interview with presenter Jake Humphrey.
In Belonging, Eastwood – a New Zealander of Māori heritage - sets out the Māori belief of whakapapa, that each generation is linked across the ages to its ancestors and descendants and that each has its opportunity to shine before the torch moves on. It is a key part of the All Blacks rugby team's success and their culture of selflessness. Curious to learn about English football, Eastwood interviews Michael Owen who tells him that the England teams he played in "there was never any mention of the team's history, nor what it was to be English".
These are the 26 players who will be representing @England at #EURO2020.
— England Football (@EnglandFootball) June 12, 2021
Every player has a journey - look how far they’ve come 👏🏴 pic.twitter.com/TGWn3Mi56D