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| England fans look to enjoy World Cup good times while they last | England fans look to enjoy World Cup good times while they last |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Since England dramatically beat Colombia on penalties in the Spartak stadium, Carl Gould’s phone has not stopped buzzing: his wedding reception is due to begin at exactly the same moment England kick off against Sweden for their crunch World Cup quarter final and guests are understandably worried. | |
| “I have received a lot of texts asking if there’s going to be a television at the reception,” he says, “The answer is, no, there isn’t. We’re not getting married in a Wetherspoons.” | “I have received a lot of texts asking if there’s going to be a television at the reception,” he says, “The answer is, no, there isn’t. We’re not getting married in a Wetherspoons.” |
| Gould convincingly insists that his mind will be completely focused on his bride, Katie, but as someone who remembers the agonies of Euro 96 he is hoping the pair’s nuptials may bring the team luck. “I’ve lived through the England experience,” he says. “So I’m just hoping for the best. If we could have a wedding win, and a England win – that would be ideal.” | Gould convincingly insists that his mind will be completely focused on his bride, Katie, but as someone who remembers the agonies of Euro 96 he is hoping the pair’s nuptials may bring the team luck. “I’ve lived through the England experience,” he says. “So I’m just hoping for the best. If we could have a wedding win, and a England win – that would be ideal.” |
| It is the outcome an entire nation is feverishly praying for. Less than 24 hours after Gareth Southgate’s young team became the first England side to ever win a World Cup penalty shootout, anticipation ahead of the game against Sweden has already begun to tip into delirium. | It is the outcome an entire nation is feverishly praying for. Less than 24 hours after Gareth Southgate’s young team became the first England side to ever win a World Cup penalty shootout, anticipation ahead of the game against Sweden has already begun to tip into delirium. |
| From suggestions that the new Heathrow terminal should be named after the England manager, to early hoarding of barbecue supplies, a nation that has known significantly more than 30 years of hurt is determined to enjoy this moment in the unexpected sunshine. | |
| “If the last eight years have taught us anything it is to enjoy the good times while they last,” says Mark Perryman, author of 1966 and Not All That. “There is that sense that people are going overboard – we beat Colombia on penalties, we’ve lost to Belgium. But with everything else that is going in the world, you have to enjoy it. We all just want it so much, don’t we.” | |
| England fans know only too well how quickly joy can turn to heartbreak – and for the 20 million people who tuned in to Tuesday game, the agony once again felt inevitable. Having played a solid game against combative opponents, a deafening collective groan escaped as Yerry Mina equalised in the third minute of injury time. “I did a terrible thing in the 91st minute,” tweeted one fan. “[I] started wondering where I would watch a World Cup final if we ever got through. Sorry.” | England fans know only too well how quickly joy can turn to heartbreak – and for the 20 million people who tuned in to Tuesday game, the agony once again felt inevitable. Having played a solid game against combative opponents, a deafening collective groan escaped as Yerry Mina equalised in the third minute of injury time. “I did a terrible thing in the 91st minute,” tweeted one fan. “[I] started wondering where I would watch a World Cup final if we ever got through. Sorry.” |
| But within seconds of Jordan Pickford’s save and Eric Dier’s winning penalty, scenes of mass jubilation and relief exploded in bars and clubs, living rooms and town squares. Chants of “It’s coming home” – a song with more resilience than a particularly hardy cockroach – echoed through the land and repeated, like ticker tape for several hours on thousands of different Twitter feeds. | |
| It would only be slightly overblown to describe it as a powerfully shared public experience of redemption, says John Williams, associate professor in sociology at Leicester university. “We witnessed manifestation of the national anxiety about who we are and what we can do,” he says. “This was a young team – and they came through. It’s a great kind of assertion of our national capabilities through sport.” | It would only be slightly overblown to describe it as a powerfully shared public experience of redemption, says John Williams, associate professor in sociology at Leicester university. “We witnessed manifestation of the national anxiety about who we are and what we can do,” he says. “This was a young team – and they came through. It’s a great kind of assertion of our national capabilities through sport.” |
| For a country torn apart by a divisive EU referendum vote, the collective release brought by a decent run at the World Cup has been heightened, he adds. | For a country torn apart by a divisive EU referendum vote, the collective release brought by a decent run at the World Cup has been heightened, he adds. |
| “We are at a moment in our country’s history where we are uncertain about who we are, how we fit in to the rest of the world,” he says. “I think we’d like to say that the victory over Colombia says something about who we are as a people – we are facing an uncertain future and perhaps we hope we can deal with it in the same way that those young men did in Moscow.” | “We are at a moment in our country’s history where we are uncertain about who we are, how we fit in to the rest of the world,” he says. “I think we’d like to say that the victory over Colombia says something about who we are as a people – we are facing an uncertain future and perhaps we hope we can deal with it in the same way that those young men did in Moscow.” |
| The redemption of one man in particular has captured the nation’s imagination. The narrative arc that saw the agony of Southgate’s penalty miss in Euro 96 erased by England’s first ever penalties victory in Moscow, has created an unprecedented outpouring among already emotional fragile fans. “Southgate has just proved what it is to understand past mistakes so well you turn them into future victory. It’s the stuff of proper mythology,” declared broadcaster Emily Maitlis. | The redemption of one man in particular has captured the nation’s imagination. The narrative arc that saw the agony of Southgate’s penalty miss in Euro 96 erased by England’s first ever penalties victory in Moscow, has created an unprecedented outpouring among already emotional fragile fans. “Southgate has just proved what it is to understand past mistakes so well you turn them into future victory. It’s the stuff of proper mythology,” declared broadcaster Emily Maitlis. |
| Tweeting a picture of Southgate embrace of Colombia’s Mateus Uribe in the wake of his crucial penalty miss against England, singer and England fan Alistair Griffin quoted If, by Rudyard Kipling: | |
| If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters both the same... #Southgate #eng pic.twitter.com/KbyAzrKobX | If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters both the same... #Southgate #eng pic.twitter.com/KbyAzrKobX |
| But while long-suffering England fans can be forgiven for allowing themselves to enjoy the positivity sweeping the country, it is tinged with an anxiety of what is still to come, says Felicia Pennant, editor-in-chief of fashion and football zine Season. “It was an amazing achievement, but it wasn’t a perfect performance – and we are going to have to play better if we are really going to progress,” she says. | But while long-suffering England fans can be forgiven for allowing themselves to enjoy the positivity sweeping the country, it is tinged with an anxiety of what is still to come, says Felicia Pennant, editor-in-chief of fashion and football zine Season. “It was an amazing achievement, but it wasn’t a perfect performance – and we are going to have to play better if we are really going to progress,” she says. |
| And yet, with the delusion of a true England fan, she has faith that Southgate’s team can shake of the baggage of past tournaments and go all the way to the final. “We are chasing history,” she says. “I’m hoping for a new English standard – one were we play well, and just win in normal time.” | And yet, with the delusion of a true England fan, she has faith that Southgate’s team can shake of the baggage of past tournaments and go all the way to the final. “We are chasing history,” she says. “I’m hoping for a new English standard – one were we play well, and just win in normal time.” |
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