Is this the time to dream about the England football team after our 6-1 thrashing of Panama earlier today? Are we, finally, going to have a team that can seriously challenge for world cup glory? To answer both questions, I can only say this: who knows?
If you can’t have dreams of success about football, I am not sure what the point is in playing or watching the game. Even though I was a terrible player, I always wanted to win when I played and always thought the team I was in would win. Even on the occasions when I played against teams I knew were far better than mine, I always dared to dream. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Today’s win against Panama was whatever you wanted it to be. A vindication of the manager’s abilities as a coach and tactician or an easy win against terrible opponents. It might have been both for all I know but it was a win and in football winning is everything.
I am even enjoying watching my country play football and I haven’t done that for years. I know that, with the exception of Harry Kane, we have no world class performers. I also know that we have some very talented footballers who are playing at a very high level.
The cynic will say that we will soon get found out by a good team and so we might. We might have flattered to deceive in our first two games, but what if we didn’t? What if we didn’t play as well as we could? We are in the realms of the unknown here, but who would honestly say that some members in the team were not capable of playing better? Harry MacGuire still gives the ball away too often. Ashley Young is not a left wing back. Ruben Loftus Cheek did all right but has the potential to play so much better. Raheem Sterling has flattered to deceive. Marcus Rashford wasn’t even playing today, Nor was Dele Alli.
And today’s game was played in temperatures in the low nineties. Have you ever been on holiday when the temperature exceeded 90f? It’s hard enough to get from the sun bed to the bar 10 yards away, never mind playing 90 minutes of high octane football.
Look, I am not getting excited about England. Well, not very. But fuck it: I am going to dream. Will we reach the quarter finals? I don’t know? The semis? I don’t know either. Winning it? That’s why I am going to dream. My expectations are unchanged. I don’t think we are a great side but how many sides are great? We’re not crap either. I still see the last 16 as being roughly our level. But who really knows? Not me.
