A NATION DARES TO DREAM
This is a precious chance for England . . . can they take it?
For obvious reasons, Gareth Southgate was trying to keep a lid on it yesterday. Not much point looking forward to match seven, when you haven’t played match four yet.
Even so, it is impossible not to contemplate, a very simple truth.
one of the World Cup finalists must come from Colombia, Sweden, Switzerland, russia, Croatia — and England. This is no longer guesswork, this is a fact.
It may be that the final opponents are Brazil, in which case, good luck. If the rugby World Cup consisted of two teams but the other was the All Blacks it would still be a tricky win most years.
Nevertheless, there it is. A permutation involving five nations lies between England and a return to Moscow on July 15 and had Southgate been told that before flying east, he would have punched the air in joy.
England have played 75 matches against the nations in question and lost only 16 of them. There have been 37 wins and 22 draws. That means nothing tonight, of course, but it would be more daunting if the path to Moscow was littered with stops marked Germany, Italy, Brazil and Argentina.
This is a moment in time for Southgate and English football, just as it is for Colombian football, or Croatia, too. Each country in this half of the draw will be eyeing an unimagined opportunity.
Before the competition, a place in the last 16 was decreed a success by the FA but circumstances are changing.
There used to be a high-profile football writer who would always tip England to win the tournament on the grounds that, one day, it would come right and he would be shown as the one man who had faith. Even he had deserted that plan by the end. He would be kicking himself, had he been around now, at the missed opportunity.
This one is opening up — even if the team and management cannot allow themselves to think that way. Not after Iceland. Yet even had England won in Nice two years ago, the path to the final would still have featured France in Paris, and then the winners of Germany or Italy. Undeniably, it is different this time.
Yet while nobody is booking tickets for the final, everyone is thinking: it could be us. This could be the Leicester title win, the year Greece or Denmark became champions of Europe. And while nobody imagined England as Germany or Brazil, they have certainly been compared to Greece, or Leicester. Just not the Greece or Leicester who won stuff.
Sometimes there are moments. Southgate was part of one in 1996, when England played Germany for a place in the European Championship final. Had they won, another victory over the Czech republic at Wembley would have made them European champions.
We all know Southgate’s part in that night and it really isn’t fair to keep bringing it up. There were also missed chances in open play, moments that could have changed England’s destiny throughout that game. The fact remains, it didn’t happen. Tony Adams, the captain, Terry Venables, the manager, remain convinced England would have beaten the Czechs.
‘It’s easy to win when you don’t have to play the game,’ Southgate deadpanned, but he appreciated the point. Some opportunities have to be taken. England won the rugby World Cup in 2003 without having to beat the All Blacks. Those are the breaks.
‘ I think life is always about opportunity presenting itself and taking control of it,’ reasoned Southgate. ‘We said we didn’t want this tournament to take hold of us and push us around, we wanted to attack it and make sure we were in charge of our destiny.
‘of course once you get to these games there are really fine margins, so there are times that you know that if you want to progress or to have success, you have to stop talking and go and deliver.’
That has been England in this tournament. If points were earned for common sense, for talking a fine game they could be picking up the trophy now. Southgate has converted sceptics into a nation of admirers, increasing levels of hope without veering into the dangerous territory of expectation — but as the giants tumble here in russia, it is getting harder.
More by accident than design, England have landed in what is termed the better half of the draw and it is not insulting to Colombia to point out, plainly, that they are not Brazil. There are five World Cups separating them for a start, plus Neymar.
Colombia will be very tough opponents for England but it would be taking modesty into the realm of meekness to think they cannot be overcome, particularly if their most influential player, James rodriguez is playing injured, which seems the best he can hope for.
Colombia have a strong, physical defence, some very nimble creative
players and Radamel Falcao with a score to settle up front, but England could be similarly praised, one by one. Harry Kane is a potential Golden Boot winner, and England’s set-pieces have looked devastating. In Kieran Trippier they have one of the best crossers of the ball, first time, in Europe.
Southgate has been allowed to travel under the radar for much of his time in charge, managing a raw, young team, still striving to shake off the residue of failures past. Now, from nowhere, a precious opportunity has arisen. Can they take it? Can he take it? When will it pass their way again?
‘I don’t think we should feel that way,’ Southgate insisted. ‘This team should not be burdened by previous ones with far more experience and many more decorated players. It would not be fair to put that weight on their shoulders.
‘They have got to go out with the freedom to show people they can play in a slightly different way and express their technical skill and the growing tactical understanding they have. Nobody else has got over this line since 2006, so what do they have to lose?
‘Of course, I can see everybody back home getting excited as the team progress, but we have to think separately otherwise we just get carried away on a wave of emotion. We have to focus — control the bits we can control. You know the level of the game is going up a notch, the level of the opponent is higher, the technical ability of the opponent is higher. You could get punished more ruthlessly if you allow chances, but we think we can cause opposing teams a lot of problems and that won’t change because we are in the knockout phase. We will continue to play in the style we have.
‘Football is a low-scoring game in which random events can happen. You could get a penalty like Tunisia’s later in the game than earlier. We have to be ready for things that can go against us, and that’s where your resilience to be able to cope as a team is important. We would be foolish to focus on anything longer term.’
He is right of course. But that won’t stop a nation dreaming. It will be no different in Bogota, Bern or Zagreb either, by the way.