Gareth Southgate has said the external noise was "louder than it has ever been" earlier in the tournament but believes England are now ready to seize their chance to make history by reaching their first major final on foreign soil.
England face Netherlands in Dortmund on Wednesday having only ever played two tournament finals in their history, winning the 1966 World Cup and losing the Euro 2020 showpiece on penalties to Italy. Both games were played in London at Wembley.
A place in Sunday's decider against either France or Spain awaits after a tournament in which England were widely tipped as one of the pre-tournament favourites but produced a series of underwhelming performances, requiring extra-time to beat Slovakia and then penalties to edge past Switzerland at the quarterfinal stage.
Asked if he feels England are now ready to peak at the climax of Euro 2024, Southgate said: "There's been a definite shift. I was really interested [because] as a coach sometimes you take a step back and you observe.
"One of the strengths of us over the last seven, eight years has been less fear, less inhibition. But I think at the beginning of the tournament, the expectation weighed quite heavily and of course the external noise was louder than it's ever been.
"I felt we couldn't quite get ourselves in the right place and, in the end, what was impressive was that the players ground it out, they ground results out and found ways to win.
"I felt that shifted once we got into the knockout stage and definitely in the quarter-final. I thought we saw a better version of us with the ball, freer.
"I'm not sure any of the messaging changed but I just felt the group changed. You're now into that moment in the tournament where it's 'what's possible, what's achievable', rather than 'what might go wrong'.
"That's different for players, for an athlete. So, this is now the chance to make history, which we've enjoyed doing that, a chance to get to a first final not held in England - the first time England will have ever done that.
"We're trying to break new ground. That's difficult and it's complicated, but the players have responded brilliantly and the resilience that's been built."
Southgate referenced the team bonding exercises which included singer Ed Sheeran playing a 30-minute acoustic set at the team's training base near Blankenhain the day after England beat Slovakia and allowing the players to consume alcohol.
"You can bond and we've been very fortunate that we've had Ed Sheeran in to sing and it was great," Southgate said.
"The players had a couple of beers before the last game. You can bond in that way but when you're having to head the ball out your box in the 92nd minute and you're having to find a goal in the 96th minute there's nothing stronger than that for building the spirit of a team."
Southgate also insisted he had no concerns over Uefa's decision to select Felix Zwayer to officiate Wednesday's semifinal despite the German official once being criticised by Jude Bellingham for a match-fixing conviction.
In 2021, then-Borussia Dortmund midfielder Bellingham questioned Zwayer's integrity after taking charge of Bayern's 3-2 win over Dortmund and he was subsequently fined €40,000.
Bellingham said "you give a referee that has match fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect" in reference to Zwayer's 2005 conviction for accepting a €300 bribe to favour SV Wuppertal in a match against Werder Bremen Amateure.
Questioned on whether he had any fears over Zwayer's appointment or felt the need to speak to Bellingham, Southgate said: "No. I think everybody knows how I deal with referees: with complete respect for every referee.
"I know the two guys at Uefa, Roberto [Rosetti] and Bjorn [Kuipers], who've been running the referees programme and I think they appreciate the respect we've shown to the officials as a team over the past eight years.
"I think there is a right way to conduct yourself towards officials. I think that's very important for the image of the game. So, no, I'm not concerned about who the referee is. "He will be at the very highest standard because that's the way Uefa make those decisions and the way they monitor the games during the tournament. For me, it is not even a consideration."
Southgate could hand Luke Shaw his first start for club or country since February after the Manchester United defender finally returned from a hamstring problem to play the final 42 minutes against Switzerland.
"He made a good contribution to the game, so that's the decision we have to make - whether he's ready to start, whether that's the best way to use him," Southgate added.
"But we're very happy to have him back. He obviously gives us balance, a different balance with the team."