soccer

Euro 2020 final: England can finally end 55 years of misery

35 Comments
By ROB HARRIS

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35 Comments
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England, hope you have read up and practiced your Dark Arts. Italy are the masters of it. May the fairest team win.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

A little respect for the Italians and specifically their anthem would be a nice gesture from all the English "fans".

Won't be holding my breath though.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

.......I couldn't handle the smug factor of the smuggest nation on earth rising to stratospheric heights.

The smuggest nation on earth? Don’t know about that.

Where are you from?

5 ( +6 / -1 )

The jammy English had "the luck of the Irish" with this dubious win that hinged on an undeserved award of a penalty shot. On this showing Italy will make spaghetti bolognese out of the beefeaters in the final. My Chianti is cooling in anticipation.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

.I can picture him (Pickford) doing a clanger very easily.

Pickford is usually good for a least one complete balls-up in each game. Interesting the British TV did not replay him throwing out the ball straight to a Danish payer just outside the box. And he was poorly positioned to save the free kick. Peter S from Denmark would have got it.

I'm an English fan, but in reality see this going to Italy at 2-0. This will be the first tough match England have played this tournament.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

32,000 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday. Cheer up England!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=347760150299772&set=a.270915731317548&type=3

2 ( +5 / -3 )

The jammy English had "the luck of the Irish" with this dubious win that hinged on an undeserved award of a penalty shot.

It was like the third 50-50 penalty call for England in that game and it was coming all day long with the number of runs England were making at pace into the box. No way Denmark were getting a dodgy penalty as you need possession of the ball in the penalty area for that!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

@ Zichi

 ...one very enjoyable aspect of football is that anything can happen, and it often does.

Exactly! A microcosm of human life itself and this is the aspect of all competitive sport that appeals most to me: when the underdog carries the day. So I'll be holding my beer, too, just in case.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Didn't realize England were that bad! 55 years is a long time. Italy is obviously in fine form so it should be a good game.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Pickford shoulda done a better job with the goal.It wasn't in the top corner and he got a fingertip to it.In my cricketing days,it was if you touch it,you can catch it.He should've saved it. He looks a bit dodgy in goal.I can picture him doing a clanger very easily.

I’ve watched Pickford quite a lot over the past few seasons at Everton and he’s a very good instinctive shot-stopper but has poor judgement and concentration - positioning for free kicks, coming for crosses etc. Defenders need to deal with pretty much anything in the box as he doesn’t take charge. I saw a mix-up with Walker in one game where he expected Pickford to clean up.

That said, if it goes to pens, I’d have Pickford over most.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I’m glad I’m not in England at the moment.

Talking about the media, Jamie Carragher in the past talked about going nuts about England as a southern thing and how he didn’t have the same passion for country as he did for his club. I’m from the same part of the country as him. It’s a pretty common feeling there. With the fever surrounding this tournament, and that he makes a living as a pundit and columnist in national the national media, he’s talking about how this has stirred him ‘like no other’. Hmmm…

I’m sure there are some pundits,presenters etc. who genuinely get excited but I suspect there’s quite a bit of panto here.

Hope it’s a good game and no players from my club get injured.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The Anglo-Italian summit clash at Wembley will answer the tricky question - Is football coming home or is football going to Rome? Tacticians Roberto Mancini and Gareth Southgate are blessed with top quality keepers, defenders, playmakers, and strikers. All the best to the finalists and their fans.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yet another commentator who hasn’t listened to the lyrics of Three Lions. It is not a song about arrogance and superiority. It’s about being a fan and being optimistic while your team loses. Again.

As co-writer David Baddiel said;

> It’s about how we mainly lose but still irrationally believe that this time, hope might triumph over experience. It’s about yearning and magical thinking. It’s about the condition of being a football fan. Admittedly people have taken FCH to mean all sorts of bollocks.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Admittedly people have taken FCH to mean all sorts of bollocks.

Including the BBC, which kind of makes Thunderbird2's point above.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I just heard from my son that the early trains leaving Edinburgh for London on Sunday are booked out. So I'm wondering if they are full of English residents of Scotland (there are plenty of those) or of those with Scottish accents but with names such as Capaldi, Nutini and Nardini (there are probably more of those).

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Eventually........

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I hope England win, I’ll be staying up all night with my bird to watch and I’ll chat to my mates during the game. Probably lose, but it’s something to do innit.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Awesome photo! No time to say “Hold me pint!”

yeh @ffs: “it’s something to do innit.”, now that ‘numbers’ are ‘closin’ erly’ these days. (Was a good show - while it lasted). As always, best to ya’

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Snowy

To you too.

I keep myself healthy enough so a very late night of drinking occasionally, not going to became a tired old antique saving up my negativity just to struggle through each day. Looking forward to it and ignoring the abuse about English by some

0 ( +2 / -2 )

ffs:

ignoring the abuse about ‘English’ by some” - ??

… being, or speaking ?

Both are ‘Great’ in my book!

Even in the face of overwhelming adversity, staying ‘true’ to oneself may be all we have”. - Peace, brother.
0 ( +0 / -0 )

Zichi, I defer to your superior knowledge of the game on top of my inattention to the finer points (I watched the game on "fast-forward" since my patience with this sport is limited to less than 90 minutes). That said, the flair of the Italian team will probably suffice to outplay the unimaginative English. But, as always, may the best team on the day win!

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

In the film Red Cliff it is made clear and driven home that the Chinese invented football 2,000 years ago.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

There's always a kind of comforting feeling when England loses a big game whether it's football, cricket or any sport for that matter.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

God I hope they lose - the pundits, news readers/presenters and the thuglife supporters seen roaring and bouncing on TV news reports are bad at the moment... full of arrogance and insufferable swagger. It's bad enough that every time there's a tournament all we hear is 1966 this, 1966 that... ugh!

If they win there won't be any other news for a month, they'll demand that Kane, Stirling and the manager are knighted... Gary Lineker will be gushing and his smug face plastered all over the place.

Please Italy, for the sake of humanity, beat England!

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Spain, Italy and Demark media have lost the plot even gloating at UK Covid death rate, it is obscene and shameful.

It is time to call a halt and take a deep breath.

Pub football rhetoric a combination of 12 pints of lager and so many packet of crisps one loses count at 55.

Nobody takes this serious after the next days hangover.

"Football coming home" Footy has no "home" it is a SPORT to be stared with every walk of life, old young, no matter the gender or colour, globally. Why so serious.

They English sense of humour, it take some getting use to.

Sunday England could well fall on stony ground, they will brush themselves off and go back to work.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Italians who when they lose, lose with grace, or English when they lose smash up the place.

Hard to choose.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

People going on about the booing of national anthems.......it's a football match, I dunno how many you have been to but that's pretty small potatoes to some of the songs that get sung in europe. If anything the booing would gee the other team up, disrespect? Nah.....opposition banter.

Respect for other fans would be in the jovial atmosphere, no fighting, no riots, no throwing of items at players or fans alike........light hearted banter back and forth is welcome. This is also dubious whether Ingurlund's fans can do this, laser pointers in the eyes of the goalkeeper anyone?!

England have been favoured with the easier side of the draw, and have been largely uninspiring in their play. 2 goals from their first 3 games, an own goal and a major bottling event by VAR gave them victory in the semis......not exactly the form of champions. BUT they do have a very good attacking team, IF their manager would allow them to express themselves. Imagine a Guardiola in charge of this team?! I shudder to think about that TBF. This is a final, so as much as it pains me, congratulations have to be given to them for grinding their way there.....Greece done it, albeit from a less fancied position......but I think the Italians have too much for them. The Italians can play fast flowing attacking football with exciting goals AND they can the play turgid, anti-football grindout......if the 2 teams opt for the latter I think the Italians are too long in the tooth to be beaten at their own game, boring as that may be. If they both go for the 1st......I still think Italy will have too much but in a final anything can happen and it's not beyond the realms of possibility that England might nick it.

I sincerely hope the Italians win.......I couldn't handle the smug factor of the smuggest nation on earth rising to stratospheric heights.

A.B.E

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

.......I couldn't handle the smug factor of the smuggest nation on earth rising to stratospheric heights

Lol

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

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