Come on England!!!

[dimreepr]

I have no idea why I'm getting caught up in this national fervour, I don't even like football as a spectator sport, but it's 'coming home'... 🤞🙏😇

Funny old life init. 🧐

Edited July 13 by dimreepr

[joigus]

55 minutes ago, dimreepr said:

I have no idea why I'm getting caught up in this national fervour, I don't even like football as a spectator sport, but it's 'coming home'... 🤞🙏😇

Funny old life init. 🧐

Patriotic fervour strikes when and where you least expect it. I know the feeling. I will take a seat on this one too.

[MigL]

Italy may be out, but England, my ''back up' team, is still in there.
No patriotic fervor here, but they do have some of the best players in the world at the moment.
Unfortunately, individual brilliance can't make up for lack of team play ( or coaching ), where Spain has them beat.

Im hoping they get lucky again; sorry Joigus, but I'll be wearing my English national jersey tomorrow while watching the game.

And a shout-out to Canadian futbol players and fans.
Canada did extremely well in Copa America, losing only to Argentina ( twice ).
Great 'warm-up' for the World Cup in North America in two years.

[joigus]

19 minutes ago, MigL said:

Unfortunately, individual brilliance can't make up for lack of team play ( or coaching ), where Spain has them beat.

Im hoping they get lucky again; sorry Joigus, but I'll be wearing my English national jersey tomorrow while watching the game.

It's OK, I understand. England would be my favourite in any other instance too.

We hedge our bets in Spain. That's why we secured Alcaraz in Wimbledon's final too. Double the chance of getting a happy ending come Sunday.

...or double the disappointment though if both fail.

[Janus]

We'll be rooting for England in our household, as my wife has English ancestry on her dad's side.

[StringJunky]

When you support England, you know the meaning of disappointment... like our weather.

[Externet]

Thank you again, Spain 😇

[MigL]

Congrats @joigus; a well deserved win.
( we'll do this again at the Worlds in two years )

It seems England's national is the Toronto Maple Leafs ( hockey ) of the soccer world.
( 68 years without a major trophy win )

[joigus]

5 minutes ago, MigL said:

Congrats @joigus; a well deserved win.
( we'll do this again at the Worlds in two years )

It seems England's national is the Toronto Maple Leafs ( hockey ) of the soccer world.
( 68 years without a major trophy win )

Thanks, MigL. It was a closer shave than it seems now though. If Guéhi's header had gone in...

I'm glad for the political consequences in Spain in terms of inducing a certain feeling of unity. This will last a couple of weeks, I reckon.

I know very little about hockey though. Have TML been finalists many times with little to show for it? Something similar can be said for Netherlands in the World Cup.

[StringJunky]

My guts were correct.  England need to stop 'bigging it up' pre-match  and just shut up and get on with the job.

Edited July 16 by StringJunky

[dimreepr]

16 hours ago, StringJunky said:

 England need to stop 'bigging it up' pre-match  and just shut up and get on with the job.

Now where's the profit in that?

[StringJunky]

9 minutes ago, dimreepr said:

Now where's the profit in that?

Think of the the profit if they actually won.

[dimreepr]

Just now, StringJunky said:

Think of the the profit if they actually won.

TBH, I don't think a forensic auditor could discern a difference... 🧐

They couldn't recognise the association of the cadence of the walk to the bank with happiness.

[zapatos]

2 hours ago, StringJunky said:

Think of the the profit if they actually won.

I agree. When my home town baseball team won the World Series, ticket sales, merchandise sales, and television viewership went way up the next year.

[MigL]

20 hours ago, joigus said:

I know very little about hockey though. Have TML been finalists many times with little to show for it?

The Toronto Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup in 1967, but every  year their many fans say "this is the year".
The TML are one of the richest clubs in the NHL, and have some of the best players, who always underperform in the play-offs.

England last won their only major international competition, the World Cup, in 1966, yet every 2-4 years fans say "it's coming home".
Similarly, the Premier League is the richest in the world, and their players among the best in the world, yet they fail miserably in international competitions.

[swansont]

1 hour ago, MigL said:

The Toronto Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup in 1967, but every  year their many fans say "this is the year".


England last won their only major international competition, the World Cup, in 1966, yet every 2-4 years fans say "it's coming home".
 

I think you’ll find this attitude is widespread in sportsball fandom.

(There are also the pessimistic masochistic fans, who think the team’s star is horrible, and their devotion to the team compels them to point this out)

[StringJunky]

45 minutes ago, swansont said:

I think you’ll find this attitude is widespread in sportsball fandom.

(There are also the pessimistic masochistic fans, who think the team’s star is horrible, and their devotion to the team compels them to point this out)

Yep, my friend, an avid football fan, said striker Harry Kane was 'garbage' in the Euros. The thing is, national teams aren't playing together week in week out, so don't really gel most times.

Edited July 17 by StringJunky

[dimreepr]

20 hours ago, StringJunky said:

The thing is, national teams aren't playing together week in week out, so don't really gel most times.

Some manager's manage it; it's better to be lucky than right, although that would sail over a bank manager's head...