The World Cup is coming.
It will unite people from all around the world – it will bring people together.
Football is the universal language; of excellence and endeavour, of fate and fortune.
Get ready for the passion and the love and the loss. Luck and despair.
It is the universal brotherhood – a game played across the planet. Everywhere.
And the greatest show on earth.
Hold tight it’s coming.
Our England will be there.
Come On England.
England – Road to the Final – EURO 2024
England fail to get over the line again in 2-1 loss to Spain
Homeward bound. Next chance to end sixty years of hurt, America 2026.
Final
Spain 2-1 England
Semi-finals
Netherlands 1-2 England
Spain 2-1 France
Quarter-finals
Netherlands 2-1 Turkey
England 1-1 Switzerland 1 (England win on penalties)
Portugal 0-0 France (France win on penalties)
Spain 2-1 Germany (Spain win in extra time)
Bukayo Saka drifted across the box and hit a low shot.
In off the far post.
That was the equaliser and England won the penalty shoot out.
Now onto Dortmund.
To play the Dutch.
We were done.
Out in a disastrous failure.
Watching the clock from 70 minutes the despair grew and grew.
Then it was 80 minutes and people looked around – anxiety growing.
At 85 minutes – there was the dawn of a new reality. We were done.
At 88 minutes there were sighs of acceptance that defeat and its consequence were about to arrive.
When you looked up and it was 92 minutes gone, your legs were weak and your guts quite empty.
The play was at the far end. There was no hope when the clock was at 94 minutes.
We were not roaring them on. It was quiet.
I did not see it happen. I was saw the players celebrate.
The terracing went mental.
Then there was a short break. A sense of amazement.
Then Harry scored.
We won.
We were through ..
Recovery was difficult – the complete reversal of fortune in a couple of minutes.
Extreme emotional acceleration – down and then up.
Its football. The beautiful game.
Sometimes the underdogs do really well and fight and fight and get a result. Slovenia celebrated long and hard as they deserved to do.
England went home to a pitiful media hysteria whipped up by silly season news men looking for something to say.
Oh well … more footaball to come and the fans know why we are here ..
Denmark are a good team. England are not sorted out – yet.
Kane scored and Denmark blazed in a lovely equalizer – in off the post.
Rice was struggling until Gallagher came on and the England left side forward play does not exist without either Sterling or Rashford even in the squad. Maybe Gordon will be an answer. Twinkle toes Foden was absent again.
It really does not matter. We have qualified for the last sixteen.
Another group game, Slovenia, then the fun begins.
Come on, England.
All German stereo types got burnt as chaos of confusion and officious blundering left the English hordes stuck out in some forsaken suburb of the suburb.
Trams got stuck, buses got hi-jacked, there were no sign posts and the all dressed up Euro2024 advisors said “I do not know” when asked “how do I get out if here.” Maybe there are some English men who are still there, some part of Gelsenkirchen is forever ours.
But we won. In a fairly dreadful, turgid sort of way we got past a spirited Serbia. We started well and Bellingham buried a header after 13 minutes and that was it.
In the second half Serbia tried to attack and we learnt a few more things. Trent A-A does not seem to work well in midfield. He can pass but covering the ground and battling are not his thing.
Foden can be totally ineffective. Neither wide enough to give width or strong enough to play in the middle he looks lost. A shame not to see him sparkle. Bellingham is the mainman behind the forwards.
Harry did his thing manfully winning free kicks but he needs wing men both sides. Its not well balanced but looked better once Gallagher came on.
Gelsenkirchen sounds horrible. It was.
England drew 2-2 with Belgium, Bellingham scored in the final seconds.
Wembley had emptied out. The majority of supporters had left with England losing to the highly rated Belgium team. Pickfords’ gross error was doubled by Dunk getting skinned by Lakaku and you would always bet on Toney from the penalty spot. So it was odds on another Wembley loss to pile the screws onto Southgate.
By the 90th minute proud captain Rice was flagging and flapping in a spring deluge and the pens in the press box were poised to poison the atmosphere, to crush the spirit of the Three Lions. Foden was fighting a tired battle withdrawing into the centre and all look gone and hapless.
There was a last thin “Come On England” chant from the supporters and a corner and surely when that ball broke away it was all over. But no. One last push and they got the ball back and Madison and Watkins played and Bellingham buried it.
What did it matter ?
It mattered to Rice that he was not a losing Captain. It mattered to Foden that he could affect the game and it mattered to Bellingham. England came back. In a meaningless friendly in a half empty stadium the England players fought to the end and delivered. It was driven by pride. And it rained and rained.
You never know what will happen. We hope Kane and Saka will be fit for the Euros in Germany and that Bellingham will shine. There is no certainty about who will play and who will be available. It is definite that there will great teams in the competition. Germany are winning, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands plus more.
Something did happen at Wembley. Something special. They talk about confidence. Its a self belief. Could it be something else. An understanding that if you keep going and going and doing it right and have the talent things will come right. As right as they can be.
Its Easter. Time to believe and keep faith.
Come On, England.
Brasil celebrate at Wembley – Vinicius Junior and 17 year old Endrick.
It was a privilege to watch the footballers from Brasil cruise past a second rate England. The stadium rocked to the samba beat of their fabulous supporters and Vinicius Junior strolled around ripping the Three Lions apart.
Wonderful though it was to learn that Brasil still have the magic, the England team looked disjointed, dispirited and disorganised. It is a rotten pill to swallow when you leave a game thinking that the manager has not really tried to win it.
Maybe someone thinks Watkins, Gallagher, Chilwell, Dunk and Bowen are international quality footballers. Does Southgate think eighty eight thousand people have turned up to see him watch his second string squad players. ..Is the team throbbing with aggressive ambition and pride as we set off for our mission in Germany ?
Gordon tried and Foden tried and Bellingham did enough ploughing around for the Brasilians to have to trip him up occasionally. Stones and Pickford did their duty and Rice led the team. Mainoo looked comfortable. The fans left quietly.
There was a tiredness about Southgate in the post game interviews. Harry Kane is not playing. Saka is not playing. Maguire looked less than match fit. Is there an unanswered question hanging in the air around the team and the coaches ?
It was a night to appreciate Brasil and to hope their fans enjoyed celebrating at Wembley. They have superb footballers.
It was not good enough from England. There is something not right.
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