Southampton became virtually everyone's second team on Saturday afternoon as they nearly knocked out Manchester City in the FA Cup.
The FA Cup was made to deliver such monumental shocks, and Tonda Eckert's men looked as if they were going to pull off a stunning upset at Wembley when Finn Azaz curled an audacious effort past James Trafford, with only 11 minutes remaining of normal time.
Unfortunately, City would reign supreme in the semi-final, as Azaz's goal jolted the ten-time Premier League winners into life to win 2-1.
Still, Southampton would come off at the end of the late defeat with their heads held high, with the likes of Ally McCoist stunned into silence by how much fight the Championship promotion chasers displayed.
The notable names waxing lyrical about Southampton
McCoist is often an outspoken and passionate figure who is hard to shut up, when appearing as a TNT Sports commentator.
But, when Azaz broke the deadlock against City, he was completely taken aback, so much so that he fell silent to fully take in the deafening noise of the Southampton masses.
The commentary box could barely believe it as Southampton took the lead at Wembley 😲 pic.twitter.com/GvQ3lxtWaF
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 25, 2026
Alan Shearer, who once called Southampton home before forging a remarkable Premier League career with Newcastle United, was very vocal about the Saints, on the other hand, as he tipped them for the glory of promotion, after the FA Cup loss.
He said, on the Rest Is Football podcast, when glowingly speaking about his ex-employers: "I do hope they can find a way to get promoted, because the way this manager has gone about things.
They were 20 unbeaten. Their form is remarkable and I really hope they get back to Wembley and get up via the play-offs."
It must be heartwarming for Southampton, who were hardly spoken about positively last season when they finished bottom of the Premier League, to now have so many compliments flood their way, particularly from such respected faces in the beautiful game.
Another ex-Southampton great, Theo Walcott, has also chimed in with his admiration for how well Eckert has his camp set up, as he was a part of the BBC punditry team dissecting the FA Cup match.
Walcott left speechless after Southampton's FA Cup battle
While the now-retired winger will be mostly remembered for his 108-goal spell with Arsenal, when looking back on his decorated playing days, he also has Southampton to thank for kick-starting his senior career.
Coming back for a second stint towards the twilight years of his injury-disrupted career, it's clear that Walcott has lots of time for the South Coast club, still, with the 37-year-old speaking rather emotively about how Eckert and Co. dealt with the challenge of City at the full-time whistle.
He said: "It just shows the level it takes to play in the Premier League, but they competed with them. I’m very proud of the whole team.
“The fans were incredible, and the players played for them. It’s been some time since they’ve been here, and the manager will be proud of that performance.
“I’m lost for words because of how well they competed. Yes, you are going to suffer; however, Southampton deserved something out of the game.
“They worked extremely hard. I’m completely speechless because it shows what a job they are doing at the football club at this moment.
“The belief is there to maybe even catch the automatic promotion. The big dogs always seem to win in the end, sadly.”
Walcott will surely be keeping close tabs on Southampton's match against Ipswich Town mid-week, as the London-born pundit is correct with his comments that the Saints can still surge into the top two, with a dramatic win.
They'll definitely need to be as fearless as they were at Wembley to overcome the Tractor Boys, with automatic promotion surely stunning everyone associated with the club, not just those looking in, such as Walcott and McCoist.
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