Tears for heroes wearing grey at Euro 96.
England's failures have been well documented over the 55 years of hurt.
Maradona's 'Hand of God', Gazza's tears, Beckham's red in St Etienne, Lampard's ghost goal in Germany.
Penalty heartache has been all too common, Southgate can relate to that.
The hyped up 'Golden Generation' failed to deliver.
But while so many great and legendary players have adorned the Three Lions shirt over the last five decades and more, it remains a mystery quite why England have not been able to repeat the heroics of 1966.
That was until Gareth Southgate restored faith in England's team again, and Roy Keane has offered his theory as to why this side have fared better than nearly all of those that have gone before them.
Asked about England's struggles on ITV, Keane said: "It’s amazing that the great players England have had, they’ve never got to a final. That makes it a bigger achievement for these lads.
“People like Bryan Robson, Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer, these boys, [Ian] Wrighty, [Gary] Nev[ille].
“Sometimes you need a bit of luck, maybe they didn’t have that spirit and togetherness. Maybe they didn’t have the calmness of the manager.
“With Gareth talking there, he’s so calm it’s unbelievable. The players have took all of that on board, but the next step is the biggest step for them.
“They’ve got to remember, this game has such a habit of kicking you where it hurts.”
Southgate knows that much better than anyone, having been at the centre of one of England's nearest misses at Euro '96, when his penalty miss saw them eliminated at the semi-final stage to rivals Germany.
Fast forward a quarter of a century and the mood is very different, as Southgate urged his players to be courageous to wipe away the disappointing memories of supporters who have suffered for far too long.
“We’ve had an incredible journey to the ground, people lining the streets en route," he said.
“People of every religion, every colour, every heritage, it was brilliant to see how it’s brought everyone together.
“It’s an occasion that, every message you read and everybody you see, gets you more excited about.
“But we have to make good decisions on the field, we’ve got to make sure that we play with discipline.
“We’ve also got to make sure we bring our best game, it’s not a day to sit and be safe and worry about making mistakes. We’ve got to be bold.”
Both Neville and Wright have had chances to end the trophy drought with England, only to fall short, but were eager to express just what winning the Euros would mean to England and its people.
“This is off the scale, that’s why it’s so important that we go that final yard tonight and win the game," Neville said.
“It would change the dynamic of football in the next five or 10 years in this country.
“We’ve been laughed at for the last 15, 20, 30 years, and now we’re starting to be serious again and taken seriously all around the world.”
Wright added: “The song says 30 years of hurt, it’s been 55 years of hurt now.
“We have been through a lot of hurt, and we’re just at that place now where we can take that next step.”
