A humble England

All my life I have witnessed England squads with egos so large moons orbited them, marinated in a rich hubris sauce stirred by jingoistic journalism and sixth form media commentary.

This leads to such absurdity as the late Jimmy Hill’s contention that Kevin Keegan could be as good as Pele on the day, only for Belgium in the 1980 European Championships to prick such pretensions, leadarea ing to an undignified live television tantrum after he exited the tournament without scoring one goal.

So it continued with Messrs Barnes, Beckham, Crouch, Gascoigne, etc: half a century’s intoxication on black and white era glories. Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Jesse Lingard, by contrast, have spent most their careers being told they wouldn’t amount to anything but loan fodder, inoculating them from others’ expectations and providing a useful dose of Kipling’s If..., as demonstrated by Kane’s fury when his side switched off after their first half mauling of Panama. How far they’ll go in this contest is irrelevant when such a squad are a joy to watch – which for the paying fans is what it’s really all about.

MARK BOYLE Linn Park Gardens Johnstone, Renfrewshire