Well, that was annoying. Devastating. Frustrating. So near, but yet so far…..The story of England in pretty much every tournament since...well, you guessed it, 1966!!

But once the immediate, gut-wrenching agony of losing the Euro 2020 final slowly subsided, a real sense of national pride of the team’s achievement began to come to the fore again. All the St George England flags and England Bunting that had been proudly flying as fever pitch built actually stayed up on walls and bushes, not to mention the ubiquitous England car flags!) Quite rightly too, because these boys went one further than all the feted teams of the past and did it in a style of togetherness and dynamism that stands them in great stead moving forward.

One Step Further?...

But one huge question remains hanging in the air. After a World Cup semi-final appearance in 2018, followed by a Euro2020  final display, can England make the final step and actually win a major tournament? Well, we won’t have to wait too long to find out, as the much-debated Qatar World Cup begins in late November 2022. (The pandemic delayed the Euro 2020 tournament to 2021, making the customary 2 year gap between tournaments much shorter)

Who will try to prevent England from achieving their dream? Well, basically every single team but it’s fair to say some are more likely than others. The bookies currently quote defending World Champions France as 5-1 favourites to retain the trophy, but that rarely happens. Brazil come in as second favourites, no surprise given their glorious history in the competition. Lo and behold, England are classed as current third favourites at 13-2! So there is a fair bit of belief in the possibility...But let’s see what Germany, Italy, Spain, Argentina have to say about that!

A Joyous Release….

Going back to the sense of national pride and excitement, it really was a special moment in recent UK history for many. After going through so much (like the rest of the world) throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the shocking death tolls and case rates, the stifling lockdowns & social restrictions, the endless worry whether life could ever really return to normal...It was unbelievably liberating to see crowds at a live sporting event, waving their England flags with that bit more giddy pride than ever before. You could sense a slow-burning sense of joy building in society as the England team started to really get going, as if we were too stifled and wary to go too crazy at first. I guess the restrictions had made us all that bit more cautious, understandably. But things really changed when England finally toppled the Old Enemy Germany in the first knockout game at Wembley. A huge crowd of over 40,000 went beserk with the Three Lions’ 2-0 victory, and the players seemed to have caught the bug too, belting out Neil Diamond’s resurrected crowd favourite “Sweet Caroline” with all the fans from the pitch!

There was such a tangible sense of release, as if it was the first time we could all truly let go and celebrate!

The Momentum Builds….

 

And celebrate we did. As if by magic, suddenly all of the classic English St George Cross Bunting started to appear everywhere you looked, whether houses, pub beer gardens or community buildings. Offices boasted work stations proudly bedecked with England Table Flags, essentially everywhere you turned it felt like you saw St George England flags

Media coverage went into overdrive as the public all made their plans as to where they would watch the games. As England easily negotiated their Quarter final against Ukraine 4-0, only the brave Denmark team stood in the way of that holy grail final slot. A bumper Wembley crowd watched an unbearably tense 2-1 extra time victory for England which sent the country into blissful (relieved?) raptures. But the wily Italians awaited in the final, where shameful scenes ensued prior to kick off with many English ‘fans’ illegally storming turnstiles and behaving appallingly. It didn’t seem to upset the players too much, who stormed into an early lead after just 3 minutes! But as we know, Italy just proved too crafty and nullified the three Lions previously-irresistible attack. Extra time came and went, leaving only the dreaded penalty shoot out left. As all England fans feared, the hoodoo came back with a vengeance and Italy ran out as winners.

However, most fans can now feel a great sense of pride and even confidence in moving forwards. Why should England not be one of the favourites for The World Cup 2022 in Qatar? 

If they can get it right, my word the rest of the country will really let go this time!