I like to write a blog post whilst settling down to watch the football. So here I am, watching Switzerland make some promising early running against Spain (who seem to be really revving up to be a force). I did the same towards the end of the round of 16, but the games were just so good that the post never got written or published. Even Ukraine vs Sweden, against all odds, kept me occupied with the act of watching rather than blogging.
I should start today by announcing the important news. My [online] Panini sticker album is 100% complete. Every team, resplendent with their wrong squad members [how can this be a thing for an online album!??] now sits fully populated with an array of perfectly squarely stuck stickers. For the full authenticity, I think they should have adapted the animation to stick the odd one at a slightly jaunty angle, and give you an odds-based chance to peel it back off with equal risk of correcting the angular stick or tearing the sticker and rendering it useless. It has actually been a great way to engage with the tournament and recreate that collection vibe, only without the crippling financial overhead of actually buying the packs.
Spain score, and with that I think the Swiss run is over.
I won't review the last 16 match-by-match but I will share a couple of my main thoughts.
1. I'm grumpy about England.
There, I said it. Our victorious, non-conceding, once in a generation talent of a team, is disappointing me. And I am disappointed with myself because of this disappointment. I have, thus far, been unable to get very excited about our team and the prospect of winning the tournament, like this. what's worse, is that when the good moments do come along (i.e. after the introduction of Grealish, when we start to purr), I am finding myself getting actually more grumpy because I am viewing it as clear evidence that we are needlessly self-throttling; depriving ourselves of an entertaining and devastating attacking force of a team and also risking everything by leaving games tight when they could be put out of sight.
Now, I'm not so entrenched in my thoughts that I don't see the counter-arguments - pacing ourselves in the competition, start with a solid defensive foundation, play in a style that is usable against our toughest opponents. There is some merit to all of these; and I found myself at least accepting the team selection vs Germany. With the goalie and 7 defensive players selected to play in front of him, I actually agreed with the selection of Sterling, Kane and Saka. But in the moments before Grealish came on I was reaching full despair at the absence of linking those 7 defenders with our attack...crying out for our Jack's introduction. Hell I'd have taken Mount! and so it came to pass. He came on, we linked up, we won. The argument that this is excellent game management is as compelling as the argument that this shows us exactly what we are being deprived of for 2/3rds of every match for no apparent reason. Ultimately of course, I have to accept that I am a bloke in Bristol, not the England manager - and that we'll never know for sure. My mission - get over it and support the boys!
2. The feeling France fans must have right now puts my point 1 into perspective
I think this is possibly one of the greatest games I've ever seen. The Swiss lively and energetic from the start, taking a lead and looking threatening. France all at sea. Only to recover and deliver 15 minutes of exhibition football - incisive, fast, dripping with class; and then their arrogant demise. The swiss scored a goal that (if memory serves) Croatia and Czech Republic also did in the round. Fast whipped cross, solid header from 8 yards out; and I love to see it - there's something very special about goals from crosses. It still blows my mind that all this happened. As Pogba was doing his dance, I was wondering whether it would be 5 or 6. The penalties were just sensational. So much nerve from everyone, until Mbappe. What a rubbish way to go out.
And so here we are - in the QFs. I'll sign off with some quick predictions:
- Spain, Belgium, England, Czech Republic for wins.
- England to mix it up a bit and give Gareth an existential crisis by playing well with a changed formation and team and bagging 3.
- Denmark players to end their tournament in tears, overwhelmed by it all and sad that they couldn't win it for Eriksen.
No comments:
Post a Comment