Wednesday 10th July 2024

The first sporting event on TV I remember was either the Olympics in 1968 or the Commonwealth Games in 1970.

I was annoyed that my TV shows were moved to make room for sport.

The first football tournament I remember then was the 1974 World Cup, which also annoyed me because my favourite TV shows were moved for live games.

But then live football every afternoon when I should have been doing homework, or something, was great. I can just remember the final with the Netherlands scoring a penalty before (West) Germany even touched the ball.

Germany still won.

Of course.

England failed to qualify for that World Cup and again in 1978 when ticker tape fell from the sky every time Argentina won 10-0.

Or something.

England nearly didn't qualify for the 1982 World Cup, getting through via a play off and so getting in through the back door.

Or something.

That first World Cup finals game featuring England I went to my friend James' house, and England scored within 27 seconds thanks to Brian Robson en route to a 3-1 win against France.

This was easy.

We thought.

But as the tournament went on, we scored fewer and fewer goals, with in the final second round group game, having to score to go through, Bobby Robson threw Keegan and Brooking on in the last half hour, after they both had been injured through the rest of the games.

Neither scored, and England went out despite not losing.

1986: Lineker hat tricks and the "hand of God".

1990: England got to the semi-final before losing to Germany on penalties.

1996: England got to the semi-finals of the European Championship, aka the "Euros, and lost again to Germany, on penalties.

So it goes. So it goes.

Since then, England flattered before losing to the first decent side they faced.

Then in 2016, with no obvious replacements for Roy Hodgson, "Big" Sam Allardyce was appointed. All went well, for one game, and then in a bar drunk on drinking pints of red wine to an undercover journalist, Sam made boasts of the strings he could pull, and in the fall out, resigned.

The U21 Manager, Gareth Southgate was appointed as a stopgap.

And England began winning.

Southgate was neither foreign nor a personality, instead was deep and thoughtful, and built teams that could play to win rather than reply on moments of individual brilliance.

England made the semi-final of the World Cup before losing to Croatia in the semi-finals.

But in the 2020 Euros, played in 2021 because of COVID, England made it to the final before losing to Italy. On penalties.

Wednesday evening, England were due to play Netherlands in the finals of the 2024 Euros. England have not played well, not scored many goals, and there had been calls for Southgate to be fired when England crashed out.

Only they didn't crash out.

Anyway, before the game there was a day's work to do, and for me, I had an eight hour audit, the first day of a two day audit, to complete.

At least the weather was cool and breezy. Again.

So, set down to work at seven, and would stay there until four in the afternoon, with just a half hour break for brunch at eleven.

Not much to tell about the day, really, other than I knew business and what to focus on.

The day passed.

I defrosted some ragu for dinner, cooked some dried pasta and so we dined again like (Italian) Kings and Queens, me opening a bottle of the decent red to toast ourselves.

And then eyes down for the football.

ITV had two hours build up, I watched 15 minutes, and had the radio on for the better comments and commentary.

Netherlands scored in the first ten minutes.

Sigh.

Then England got a penalty when Sir Harry of Kane was (not) fouled when taking a shot.

He scored.

England played well, could have had two or three more by half time.

But didn't.

In the second half Netherlands played well, had most of the possession and chances.

Saka scored but was offside. And the Manager then subbed Kane.

Did he know nothing, the Twitter mob raged?

In the last minute, fellow sub, Cole Palmer, passed to Olly Watkins. Watkins spun and shot instead of passing.

The ball passed between the legs of a defender and into the corner of the net.

2-1.

England won.

I shouted with joy. Twenty seconds later Bev and Steve shouted as their game feed was a little behind.

The crowd, and team, went mad.