LONDON – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has backed England to win Euro 2024 and put an end to their series of near misses in major competitions.

City, following numerous attempts, finally won their first Champions League crown last season, when they clinched a historic treble.

Guardiola feels that Gareth Southgate can do the same with England after experiencing their own painful failures.

The Three Lions reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup, as well as making it to the Euro 2020 final, where they lost to Italy on penalties.

“They are really good. It’s not just the talent of the strikers, it’s the whole package, the whole group and Gareth knows perfectly what he has to do,” Guardiola said on May 3.

“So I have the feeling, everyone has the feeling, that England, (from) the last events – the World Cup and European Championship – they make steps, they are on the verge, they are really close.

“When you arrive at these stages every two years, it’s going to happen. It’s quite similar to us, we were close, and in the end we lifted it.”

The City boss also believes the English passion for football, which has often weighed heavily on their players at tournaments, will prove a more uplifting factor this time.

“I see the reaction when they play European Cups or World Cups, people go crazy on the streets,” he said.

“That proves how proud they are and, at the end of the day, as a football player, that is the best. Your country is proud of what you are doing, and the way you are playing, reaching the last stages.

“Just believe it. If they believe it, they can do it.”

The Spaniard also praised the outstanding form of City forward Phil Foden, who could play a key role for England – grouped with Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia at Euro 2024.

“I have the feeling if he continues his career until the end (at City), and continues that level, he can be one of the best, that’s for sure,” he said. AFP, REUTERS