Former All Whites coach Ricki Herbert has heaped praise on England manager Gareth Southgate, after he guided his young side into the semi-finals of a World Cup for the first time since 1990.
Herbert knows Southgate well. The pair crossed paths while they were both studying to attain the Uefa Pro Licence in England and formed a connection that saw former All Whites defender Tony Lochhead earn a trial at Middlesbrough, where Southgate was plying his trade at the time.
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Speaking with Andrew Gourdie and Jim Kayes on Radio Live Sunday Sport, Herbert said Southgate had done an exceptional job.
"I've watched his career develop and blossom over a number of years, but probably even better still more recently and what he's doing with the national team," Herbert said.
"It's not any fluke to me to see that the national team has come out onto the world stage at a really critical time and really put their front foot forward, and a lot of that has gone down to Gareth Southgate.
"He's patient, he's articulate and he's got a very young side that I think he's galvanised really well.
"I think they've been very, very good value for where they are at the moment and thoroughly deserve to go through to a semi-final."
Herbert felt Southgate’s playing experiences had helped guide his thinking as a manager. Southgate endured pain as an England international, missing a crucial penalty in a semi-final shootout at Euro ‘96.
Herbert described the young England boss as a calm, collected character, but singled out Southgate's humility as one of the key reasons behind his ability to turn the underperforming team around.
"After the Colombian game, one of the first things he did was embrace the Colombian player who missed the penalty.
"That sort of humble approach, that gesture goes a long way and I think that's obviously filtering down through his own team, through his own management.
"It was really cool to see him go and embrace the crowd. He is a true England boy.
"I think the pain he would've felt missing the penalty, and now stepping into the manager's shoes and taking them to a territory we haven't seen them in for such a long time, you could see the passion starting to flow, as he embraced the fans at the end of the game.
While Southgate's off-field approach has been important in the turnaround, his on-field nous has been equally impressive.
Herbert likes what he's seen from Southgate's England.
"He's been building, he's picked the right types of players and I think the character of those, albeit the majority are quite young, the character is what he wants.
"It's what he needs and it's really helping that team culture to be very strong.
"They've got good pace in the wide areas, three very mobile and solid central defenders, and then [Jordan] Henderson who can sit in front, get on the ball and organise things.
"In front of that, Harry Kane leads the line more so than not, very rarely comes deep. But the players that are around him now, with [Jesse] Lingard, those type of players, the flexibility, the mobility of those type of players allow England to look a little different.
"It's not 'to the fullback, play it wide to [David] Beckham who crosses the ball'. I think they've got a little more about them, but that's taken time."
England take on Croatia on Thursday morning (NZ time) and Herbert's backing Southgate to guide England to a first World Cup final since 1966.
"I think they are an excellent good opportunity to go through. The other side of the draw is tough to pick, but I'd love to see Belgium go through.
"Let's say I'm picking an England-Belgium final."
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