I was desperate for glory at Euro 2020, but Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest was a reminder of what really mattersThe hardest part of picking a moment from the sporting year is trying to remember which of them actually happened in 2021. Twelve months that simultaneously took forever and went by in an instant. Perhaps the pandemic. Perhaps just middle age.I’m quietly confident that Euro 2020 did happen – a blur of podcasts, radio shows at Wembley Boxpark, and England reaching the final of a major tournament for the first time in 55 years. Two days before the final I caught myself idly wondering if I actually wanted us to win. Was this the right time? So many England fans have...
Desperate perpetrators and drugs also blamed but report about day of ‘national shame’ cites collective failures“I am not in the business of individual blame. So if people are looking for a report that tries to make scapegoats of individuals you won’t find that.” So said Louise Casey of her comprehensive report into the events in and around the Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium on 11 July. “There were collective failures that I identify and were clear. There are also mitigating factors that I describe in the report, in hindsight, as a ‘perfect storm’ that made that final so difficult to manage.”As the 129 pages are picked over, it seems unlikely Lady Casey’s words will stop people looking to hold...
Thanks to Pep Guardiola’s guidance, the technically gifted and tactically smart City tyro is now running games from all anglesIt seems remarkable that there was a time, not so long ago, when the Premier League was seen as holding England back. Only about a third of its players were England-qualified, the argument went, and so opportunities for English youth were restricted. The Premier League has many problems and causes many problems, and for the vast majority of young players perhaps it is difficult to secure game time. But for those at elite level it can be a useful finishing school, offering the most promising young players regular high-class opposition and the very best teachers.These are extraordinary times for English football....
The excellence of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe was the best thing about a farcically easy night in San MarinoIn defence of weird, silly games of football. How to spin this? With Qatar 2022 qualification ON THE LINE in San Marino Harry Kane produced a sensational first‑half four‑goal blitz. Hmm. Perhaps not. With Qatar 2022 qualification not – OK, fine – realistically on the line England sent out a stunning message with a clinical show of penalty-taking, goal-prodding and lunge‑hurdling. No. Maybe not that, either.There is on the face of it no defence for this game of attack versus no-defence, this 10-0 mauling, this exercise in mild sporting absurdity. Watching England shuttle the ball around beneath the sallow green...
The switch against Albania feels significant, as the flexible formation fits England’s players, especially the full-backsPlayers may still be suffering their post-Euro hangovers, the last of the broken glass may only just have been swept up from Wembley Way, but the World Cup is already only a year and a week away. For England the lessons of the Euros are still being assessed and assimilated and yet, already, FA officials are travelling out to Qatar to scope out training bases. The final run-in has already begun.Suddenly a 5-0 win over a desperately disappointing Albania – how on earth had that side, even allowing for defensive injuries, beaten Hungary home and away? – is not just a jolly night out, a...