Sweden 0-2 England: Is Football Coming Home Again?
Back in 1990 a young and naive version of myself watched England lose the World Cup semi-final to Germany. Little did he know he would have to wait 28 long years for another chance.
But it’s finally happened.
England are just one game away from a place in the 2018 World Cup final, and they got there fairly comfortably. Nobody was taking anything for granted, but on paper Sweden was a team we should beat. That usually counts for nothing, but this time things went exactly to plan.
From the moment Harry Maguire’s bullet header put England ahead after half an hour, Gareth Southagte’s men controlled the game and kept Sweden pretty much at arm’s length. It seemed like a question of when, not if, the second goal would come. Dele Alli duly obliged, and England were in cruise control.
Yes, Jordan Pickford pulled off a few decent saves – in particular the one from Claesson after a fine Swedish move – but their two goal cushion made it a comfortable enough match. Sweden tried hard but their attacking limitations were in evidence throughout and in truth they never really threatened an upset.
It’s really not supposed to be this straightforward. But we’ll take it!
It seems almost unbelievable, but after so many years of failure and disappointment, we’re in with an incredible chance of making the final. And it’s been fully deserved.
Gareth Southgate is succeeding where so many before him failed. The whole country is buzzing with a mix of nervous anticipation, joy and disbelief.
It’s amazing to be a part of it.
Learn How To Celebrate
People have every right to celebrate what the team has achieved so far, and we love the positive vibe and how it’s brought the country together.
However, if you think the best way to support your team is to damage somebody’s car or smash up an ambulance, then you are a moron and we don’t want anything to do with you.
In the pub we were in on Saturday, some dickhead decided it would be a good idea to let off a flare. I genuinely hope the person responsible for that fell down a well on the way home and was unable to summon help.
Seriously, what is wrong with some people? Enjoy it, celebrate, back your team, but don’t be a prick about it. We’re better than that.
So Is Football Coming Home?
Croatia are a good side, they have some world class players and we should not underestimate them. They’re good enough to beat anyone on their day. Just ask Argentina.
That said, based on their display against Russia, England should not fear them. If we go out again and play to the best of our ability, we’ll win. Nothing is guaranteed, but there will probably never be a better chance to make a World Cup final. We’ve waited 28 years for this chance, and I’m sure we’ll make the most of it.
Football isn’t coming home, because we’re not hosting this tournament and that’s the only context in which that song makes sense. But love just might have the World In Motion….
Roll on Wednesday. I really can’t wait…