55 years of wounded and still … still … England dreams.
Everything went so well. Remember to open for two minutes. Trippier’s cross, Luke Shaw’s violent finish. Riot. The members intertwined as the world’s greatest Twister game ever.
This was not a completely fleeting highlight either. Suddenly, the best English meat is everywhere, Italy hits every other ball and worries the best midfield in the tournament. Even Giorgio Chiellini, who is approaching big matches with the relaxed confidence that normally only the first beer of the summer can bring, looked rattling.
Luke Shaw’s goal was an atmosphere / Marc Atkins / Getty Images
Then it goes. Things work out. The sweet Caroline sinks down, Atomic Kitten covers everything but disappearing and Roberto Mancini’s side begins to grow into the game.
Then comes the drive. The ominous, gut-wrenching operation. The type of operation that makes you feel physically ill. Suddenly, Federico Cheisa makes his generation’s talent chic. Lorenzo Insigne has also woken up while Marco Verratti and Jorginho are starting to do very special things with the ball.
Eventually, the inevitable suction comes in the form of a scary corner goal. Of course, it has no aesthetic value, but Italy does not care. They smell blood and, let’s be honest, the next hour – half the normal time, half the extra time – Gli Azzurri looks hungry.
Eventually, the second last whistle blows. Penalties.
At this time, you can barely breathe. You think back to all the other times Three Lions, some of them when you were not even born.
Enjoy Euro Italy, I hope they make you very happy / MARCO BERTORELLO / Getty Images
But what is this? Harry Maguire has just made the best penalty of all time. The net almost came loose. He must have a foot like a traction engine etc. England wins. We win. We win the euro. My God, someone’s holding me …
We do not care to remind you of what happened next. If you missed it, never fear. You get to relive the tragic events of each pre-tournament montage for the rest of your days.
Then maybe you do not …
Maybe, just maybe, this is the motivating heartache that Gareth Southgate’s brave boys need to finally overcome England’s catastrophic underperformance at the international level. That will certainly be what the staff and players will inform the media in the coming days, and since they are clearly a special group, we may be inclined to believe them.
Football is full of examples of teams that do exactly that. In 2014, Leicester City bounced back from the most heartbreaking playoff game of all time to record a then-record championship score.
I really have nothing to add other than this team gave me a few more reasons to be proud to be English.
Immigrant identity is as fucked up as others try to do, but I loved that England traveled into town, rinsed all bad eggs and reminded us all of our right to thrive x
– Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E) July 11, 2021
Just four years ago, France did something similar and responded to the indignity of having a Swansea City rotating striker deprive them of the European Championship by running for World Cup glory two years later.
There is a set of precedents and provided Southgate can be somewhat more reactive in big games – Italy’s closure of their wingers in the second half was a big reason for them to get back to things – England could finally break their hood in Qatar.
This is a young team, a beautiful team both on and off the field. This does not have to be the end. Instead, it can be a sad but outrageous departure on their path to immortality in football.
