Are we on the road to greater things now?

Sweden 0 England 2

You have to pinch yourself, don’t you!?

The day started off warm and got warmer, and by the time the match was nearly here, people were swallowing or had consumed a significant amount of liquid. But that didn’t dampen their awareness. We were here to see England beat – hopefully – Sweden and stay undefeated (I say undefeated as the Belgium game was a game of reserves and wasn’t really a reflection of our true value/ abilities).

The whistle went, and both teams started off apprehensively, which made everybody, fans, pundits and press alike worried, but, not to fear, England quickly got into its stride, and Maguire popped up and scored with a brilliant header. England had most of the possession and didn’t look like they were going to concede an equaliser. Pickford, when called upon, showed his metal and defended like a true pro. Kane’s best shot was wide off the mark, but that didn’t stop him from getting involved in other areas of the field.

Whistle went for halftime, and the excitement by the English fans was totally out there. The Swedish fans were nervous and knew that their team would have to buck their ideas up if they wanted to salvage anything from this match.

Second half was underway, and the England squad looked and played with total confidence. Again we attacked from the getgo. The Swedish fans were hoping for something better and kept their fingers crossed. That is until the 58^th minutes when Alli popped up and scored our second goal. By then the Swedish fans were resigned to defeat. That didn’t stop the Swedish team from trying, but trying was all they got out of the game. Finally, the whistle went, and England was in the Semi-Finals for only the third time in their history. The last was 28 years ago (1990) and of course, the first being that famous 1966 victory. Heroes of the game were Pickford, Maguire and Alli. But that isn’t to take anything away from the other players as it was their combination as a team that did it for them/ us.

To be fair, at the beginning of the manager’s appointment I didn’t give him a chance in hell. I thought it was a bad appointment and he was too inexperienced. We, as I wasn't the only one, said it was downhill from here. But he fooled us all by assembling a good, but young squad, to go to the World Cup and give their all. 

Expectations were low, and as Southgate kept rubbing it in, England was a young team, a team that was building for the future (not this World Cup). Such talk was psychological, and the press, pundits and fans bought into it and didn’t give them much chance of progressing beyond the group stage. Brazil and Germany were favourites, and plus there were other “better” teams than England. Such as Argentina, Portugal and Spain, to name but five. But like all sporting events and life in general, a certain amount of luck is brought into the equation. Germany, Spain, Argentina, Portugal and Brazil, along with a few others took an early trip home, which left England’s odds rising as they progressed through the tournament.

In the other game for the Semi-Final place Croatia took on the hosts Russia, and their match finally ended 2-2 in an exciting encounter. Penalties were then dispatched with Croatia winning 4-3. They now take on England this Wednesday at 7pm. England are rated above them, but that doesn’t really matter because it is all about the day and on that day anything can happen. Skill, luck and temperament will be the decider. They have a great little player in Modric, the former Spurs player, who now plays for Real Madrid. We have a better squad, but that won’t stop them throwing everything they’ve got at us. They’ve had some good victories on the way, and nothing will fear them in the Semi-Final. As I hope nothing will fear our England team on the day.

After the England match, the English fans congregated around the stadium, not wanting to leave, not wanting the spell to be broken. They just couldn’t believe their luck, how far they’ve come, and how all the pundits said they wouldn’t be staying long. Because of this, they had to reschedule their holidays and notify their employers so that they will stay an extra week. The excitement was plain to see with plenty of hugs, from both sexes, on same sex and opposite sex. Both men and women grabbing each other in disbelieve and excitement. Most partied through the evening and night and didn’t want that great feeling to subside. In fact, they wanted it to continue until Wednesday, afterwards and to the Cup Final itself. Where they hoped to be there, along with either France or Belgium.

One interesting Spurs note; whatever permutation there will be at least one Spurs player in the Final.

So there you have it. We weren’t expected to get this far, but with only a week to go there are now four teams competing for two spots. England, France, Belgium and Croatia. All European teams.

God bless England, God bless Spurs. Without Spurs players in the squad then this might have been an entirely different World Cup. Now we are here, for Christ sake, let us get on and win it. “It is coming home,” and it better. Fifty-two years has been a very long 52 two years to wait. With Spurs going to a new stadium and England on the edge of great glory this year/ season could go down as one of the greatest in our and England’s history.

Don Scully