GARETH SOUTHGATE deserves every bit of praise that is coming his way. He deserved his own moments of recognition, which is why the sight of him celebrating in front of England fans after the victories over Sweden and Colombia struck a chord.

After his passionate cries and fist-pumping following the dramatic World Cup penalties win in Moscow over the Colombians, the way he orchestrated the supporters’ Saturday evening celebrations in Samara provided a further sign of a strengthening bond between manager and the team’s followers.

Those of a Middlesbrough persuasion will remember how he would regularly stay behind when the majority of his team-mates had hit the dressing room to celebrate with the South Stand after victories, and now he has the country dancing to his tune.

Eyebrows may well have been raised when he was given the task of succeeding Sam Allardyce approaching two years ago, but he has more than proven how well equipped he is to lead this bright and vibrant England squad into the most exciting of new eras.

No matter what happens against Croatia on Wednesday night, in a short space of time Southgate has delivered. Not only has he been bold and brave enough to give the talented youth a chance, he has managed to repair a fractured relationship between the team and fans.

For far too long there has been a sense of frustration and disengagement, with the majority of England supporters just expecting failure and under-achievement from players often referred to as over-paid Premier League players who don’t really care.

The FA have tried a variety of things in the past to try to address things, but never before have they opted for a manager in the mould of Southgate – largely inexperienced at the top level as a manager, and yet intelligent enough and confident enough to introduce changes and implement a plan that his older predecessors haven’t even dared try.

This is also a manager who, since leaving Boro, has spent a lot of time working with young players, so is acutely aware of the characters he has at his disposal and how to deal with the attitudes, demands and lifestyles of the modern day player.

Suddenly it feels good to be an England fan again.

Similarly, and this goes hand-in-hand, it also must feel good to be an England international again – and when did that last happen? There might have been peaks and troughs, but there has not been anything like this since Euro 1996.

That was, of course, the year Southgate missed his semi-final penalty against Germany, having been asked to take one of the kicks by Terry Venables and admitting afterwards that it had hit him “like a bolt from the blue”.

His only previous penalty experience before that was when he missed one for Crystal Palace three season earlier, so little wonder he roared like one of the Three Lions after England’s first World Cup penalty shoot-out triumph against the Colombians.

And then came Saturday’s comfortable win over Sweden. Not once was there a sense that England would lose, even if Washington’s Jordan Pickford continued to shine by making three incredible saves to preserve the lead.

England controlled the tempo, the ball and the Swedes rarely got in the final third. There could be no complaints about the outcome, with the headers of Harry Maguire and Dele Alli providing a worthy end to a solid enough performance to get the job done.

England will have to play better than that to win the World Cup, and Southgate will know that. If we were to be picky, Southgate needs his players not be as wasteful in possession as they were at times and they could have done with being more clinical.

Croatia, on their day, are more than capable of winning the World Cup themselves, but they have hardly been at their best in the last two games and they looked dead on their feet in the dying stages of extra-time against Russia.

Stopping Luka Modric and breaking down Dejan Lovren’s defence is the only concern of Southgate and the England squad over the next few days, but they will also be looking to play with greater finesse if they are to topple France or Belgium.

There have are already calls for Marcus Rashford to replace Raheem Sterling. But why at this stage? Sterling might have missed a couple of chances, but his running and movement creates little pockets for his team-mates to exploit. He has not been as poor as many have made out, with Rashford perfect for an impact role from the bench.

For now what matters is England are in a World Cup semi-final for the first time in 28 years. This is a different group to that experienced one sent out by Sir Bobby Robson, when the youthful Paul Gascoigne ended up in tears at the prospect of missing the final before West Germany knocked Gary Lineker and Co out on penalties.

Yet England, without the big star names they might have had in the past, have given every fan hope that the long-awaited and much-coveted second World Cup crown is around the corner.

It was party time on Saturday night across the country, and that was just after a quarter-final success. Just picture what next Sunday night could be like … and Southgate, along with his players, has kept the dream alive.