The failure of Italy to qualify for the World Cup is a reminder of how quickly things can change. The year in which England must come to fruition is 2022.
The pain from losing in the final of the European Championships at Wembley to Italy is still present for the England manager but through thorough analysis of that game and his team's impressive run in the tournament, he is confident England can continue their upward trajectory.
If England win the World Cup this winter, they will be judged on whether they achieve their goal of winning the World Cup in 2022.
After coming so close to glory on their own turf, the expectation is that they take the next step and end their long wait to lift major silverware. Only a victory will be good enough for him and his players.
That is what we are here for. Ahead of Saturday evening's friendly with Switzerland, Southgate told Sky Sports that they have always been here for that.
It has been a goal for five, six years since the chairman set it. It has always been in our minds as a development. We hit the right markers on the way to that.
We know that winning a tournament is difficult, but I think this is a really competitive one because there are any number of teams that are strong. We are on the right path going towards that and in our heads as a group we know it is the only thing that will fulfill us.
Reflecting on last summer's heartbreaking loss, he picked out the positives, which he hopes to repeat this winter, but also the moments England must improve on if they are to succeed.
We studied previous winners of major tournaments and we hit many of the targets.
In the end last year we were second top scorer in the world, goals-per-game, and we had the best defensive record. We have to continue to do things that we do well.
In the big moments there's still a need to retain the ball better and be a bit braver in possession of the ball.
In the big moments, there is still a need to retain the ball and be brave in possession of the ball. There was a lot of pressure on every game for us as effectively hosts, but we managed that well through most of the tournament. As the game wore on, we were a little bit passive without the ball.
Those small areas are what it is. Another scenario would be another game. Who knows the implications of going ahead after two minutes and what that did to our mentality but also the flow of the game?
England scored 52 goals in a single calendar year. The Three Lions set a new record for clean sheets in a single year.
The build-up to the World Cup ramps up this week with the internationals against Switzerland andIvory Coast before there is another gear change in June in the Nations League.
The clock is running down to November and so is the time for Southgate to prepare. The focus this week is on tactical elements. We would like to see some tactical things. He says there are some players he would like to see.
He accepts that the timing of the competition could affect his final squad selection.
I think we have a framework, but we are going to go through the end of the season where some players are not so strong. We are going to go through a close season which could mean people change clubs. We are going to start another season with new players emerging.
There is a group of people who have big experience with big matches with England and that has to count for a lot. You need players with experience in those environments to know how they will react in those moments.
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There are many moving parts. They all need to fall into the right place in time for the World Cup.
Is he positive about the year ahead?
He says there is an exciting team. We had three or four very good years.
We found a lot of new players after the games in the autumn of 2020 when we didn't qualify for the Nations League.
Whatever happens in the next couple of months, we will learn a lot. It is about preparing ourselves.
I think the Nations League is a good tournament. Ultimately our year is going to be judged on the World Cup.
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