It’s taken two games and the whole pre-tournament build-up for someone to say it.
Nobody so far has dared, and by everyone saying they have low expectations it seems to have made those four words taboo…
Now Wayne Rooney has blown it for everyone though, he’s come out and said: “We can do it”.
As soon as he said it, it was almost possible to feel the nation come alive with belief. But this belief is what makes it so hard to be an England fan.
No matter how old you are or how many tournaments you have seen, most people older than 10 will have experienced England heartbreak. Whether it’s the Southgate penalty generation, or the Hand of God generation. So far it has been refreshing to not have a bucketload of hype behind the players and just let them get on with kicking footballs around the pitch with no expectation.
In fact it’s probably why they have played so well. There’s no pressure, no ‘England expects’ weight on their shoulders, no second-by-second post-mortem of games by pundits and the press – no pressure on Roy and the lads.
But now Rooney has piled it on and, after triumphing over Sweden in such dramatic circumstances, it’s easy to get sucked in. The papers are now full of it, there’s England fever gripping the nation once more. Tomorrow there’ll be countless more England football accessories and England football kits around.
England can win this tournament. They can end their long years without football trophies. They’ll need luck, skill, composure and of course belief, but they have the ability and the sheer dogged determination to succeed against the biggest teams.
It seems after all, England still expects.
Image Rights: Duncan~
