London tube station given Southgate’s name

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Europe

00:36

England may have finished fourth and lost three matches at the World Cup – tied for the most alongside Egypt – but that hardly dampened the spirit of the celebrations for the side’s first journey to the World Cup semifinals since 1990.

London's transport bosses temporarily renamed an underground station in honor of England soccer team manager Gareth Southgate.

England enjoyed their best World Cup performance in 28 years under Southgate’s leadership, narrowly missing a spot in the final by losing to Croatia in extra-time.

Southgate proved popular with England's fans for helping create a renewed sense of optimism and, after the team returned home on Sunday, Transport for London (TfL) rebranded Southgate underground station in North London as the "Gareth Southgate" station for 48 hours.

Southgate tube station was rebranded Gareth Southgate station from Monday morning for 48 hours. /VCG Photo

“We have to celebrate the achievement, it's important,” said Patricia Gomez, 44, who traveled from Morden in south London on her day off on Monday to get a photograph with the new sign. “[Gareth] was awesome, he gave the team motivation, and he made them work as a family.”

After winning the tournament on Sunday, France also had similar tributes on the Paris Metro, where six stops have been temporarily renamed for the team.

Southgate's popularity led many fans to copy his match day style of wearing a waistcoat as he watched from the dugout. One retailer said sales of waistcoats had soared during the tournament while the day of the semi-final clash with Croatia was dubbed “Waistcoat Wednesday”.

“Maybe we’ll get a statue next,” said Steve Ingall from TfL.

(With input from Reuters)