England’s Expectation Goes Ballistic As Sweden Aims To Halt Three Lions’ Title Ambition
THE joke in Russia is that if England won the ongoing World Cup, football commentary would take a new dimension with every match commentator always reminding soccer fans of the feat in every game. Thus, listeners would be inundated with names of English World Cup players: “Tottenham’s Harry Kane, who scored England’s match in the World Cup final, battles with Manchester City’s John Stones, a player that featured in every single game to ensure the World Cup trophy returned home.
“Flying down the flanks is Raheem Sterling, the mercurial winger that crossed the ball more times than any other player at the World Cup, where the Three Lions took its right position in world football.”
Every English newspaper you read and every fan you encounter will tell you that now is the best possible time for football to return home, meaning that England, credited with inventing the game, is set to win the competition for the second time after its 1966 triumph.
This week, an English store, Asda, launched operation ‘It’s Coming Home’ from its London “Southgate” store in time for today’s England’s quarter-final against Sweden, following the first ever World Cup penalty shootout win for the Three Lions.
According to the English press, Operation ‘It’s Coming Home’ means “Asda colleagues at all stores who want time off for the most anticipated match in years can work with their local store to make a substitution, with a shift swap where possible.
The plan also includes showing the 3pm Saturday kick off in colleague areas at all stores and letting those on shift wear their World Cup shirts. “It expects that sales of bangers, meatballs and BBQ’S are to increase by 1966 per cent in the next four days. 8.5 Million sausages, 500,000 Swedish meatballs and more than one million KG of charcoal is set to be sold as Brits prepare for the match the best way they know how to.
During the World Cup
Asda expects to sell over three million litres of beer – almost enough to fill the Olympic Pool from London 2012.”
It added that colleagues that want a substitute on their shifts are able to organise this with their store where it’s possible and extra bangers, booze and even Swedish meatballs are being delivered to stores in anticipation for a sales surge.
“We’re prepared, the England boys are prepared, hopefully our customers are prepared, it’s coming home,” it said.
That is the extent of the expectations that England will beat Sweden at Samara Arena today and go on to win the FIFA World Cup 2018. England fans are starting to believe they can end a 52-year wait to win the World Cup, but they face a Scandinavian side that has a habit of upsetting the odds, particularly against England, having lost just one of their eight previous competitive meetings. In qualifying for the quarterfinal, Sweden topped Group F, which also had Germany, and defeated Switzerland in the second round. But fans of the Three Lions have discountenanced such statistics in their fervent belief that the 4-3 penalty shootout defeat of Colombia points that the gods are finally in support of their quest for glory.
This optimism is shared by the England players, who feel the cup is within their reach. “We’d like to bring it home,” England defender, John Stones told the press on Thursday. “I’d love to win a World Cup, England would love to win a World Cup.
“It’s been a long time since we last won it. We want to make people proud back home.”
THE Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has said that the women national basketball team would begin training before the end of this month for the 18th edition of the Federation of International Basketball Associations (FIBA) Women World Cup holding in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain from September 22 to 30. NBBF president, Musa Kida, stated that all formalities to ensure D’tigress camp in the United States and play quality friendlies have been put in place.
He noted that the Nigerian team who are the Africa champions would get all the required support to lift their spirit ahead of the World Cup.
Kida called on corporate bodies to support D’tigress as they participate in the World Cup, saying that the team has quality players that are hungry to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians at the championship.
“All arrangements for D’tigress to begin their World Cup preparation in two weeks time have been put in place. The camping procedures and other logistics have been provided. D’tigress are Africa champions and NBBF is doing all it can to raise the spirit of the girls ahead of the World Cup,” he said.
Meanwhile, FIBA has announced a new date for its proposed training and certification of referees/technical commissioners’ course in Nigeria. Renowned FIBA referees instructor, Johnny Jacobs, from Belgium, who was in Lagos to monitor the referees on duty at the last FIBA World Cup qualifiers for men made this known at the weekend.
The new date for the course is now fixed for September during the World Cup qualification window, which Nigeria is bidding to host.