We’re loving the beautiful game again
Going into this World Cup, much like most England fans, my expectations were somewhere between slim and non-existent. That could be down to years of humiliating disappointment, realisation that we don’t have some divine right to be at football’s top table, or it could be another example of the Gareth Southgate effect. He has brought a calm, sensible approach to this squad and for this tournament. He is eminently likeable, as are many of these young players, which is in stark contrast to previous squads. When they return to English soil in a few days time, regardless of final results, I’m sure they’ll be given a heroes’ welcome. The belief in our potential, and what we can achieve in future, will have been well and truly restored. Jonathan Roberts Howard Drive, Maidstone