Take 2016′s Euros in the French city of Marseilles: Pot-bellied, pint-carrying England fans foolishly staged running riots with Russian ultras – who just happened to be much better fighters.
Then in 2021 England made the Euro final at Wembley Stadium against Italy – England’s first final in a major tournament since they lifted the World Cup in 1966.
To mark the occasion, thousands of England fans went on a terrifying 12 hour booze-and-drug fuelled rampage which was so bad Netflix has made a documentary about it.
One fan, Charlie Perry, was famously photographed with a lit flare sticking out of his backside, minutes after using a car key to blast a mystery white substance up his nose in front of hundreds of cheering fans.
Perry bragged of drinking at least 20 cans of cider, before gatecrashing the match without a ticket, describing the mayhem as “the biggest day of my life”.
Perry is the walking, talking, snorting embodiment of legendary Liverpool manager Williams Shankly’s famous quote: “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”
Shankly was absolutely correct.
Even a sniff of success for England in a major tournament is an incredible unifier, leading to a period of guarded hope and cautious optimism – like when you buy a lottery ticket and dare to think of how you’ll spend the riches.
That time is now. You can feel it everywhere, so I’ve decided to become part of it.
After England emerged from the group stages, I was walking down the high street of Peckham – the district of South East London made famous by Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses, these days littered with gyms and coffee shops.
In the window of a sports retailer, a day-glo red England shirt caught my eye. It’s the pre-match kit England wear right before the start of the game, complete with the three little lions among Tudor roses. It’s also reduced by £20 ($42), down from £59 ($125). I’m in.
Pulling on my new garment to head to the pub and watch England’s semifinal is a curious experience. Other England fans on the Tube nod and pass the occasional comment of encouragement about the game ahead. I’m one of them now.
Entering the pub, little St George flags are stapled to the walls, pint-sipping punters are crammed shoulder to shoulder, with frequent cries: “Come on England!”
The team has needed all the encouragement it can get.
By some miracle, England is through to this Sunday’s Euro 2024 final after defeating the Netherlands, and faces the monumental challenge of beating Spain.
Spend any time with lifelong fans, and they’ll tell you it’s scarcely barely believable Gareth Southgate’s England team has progressed this far.
England wobbled through the group stages, was seriously unconvincing in beating Slovakia in the Round of 16, then won on penalties against Switzerland.
For weeks Southgate has been the most criticised man in the UK. His management decisions and reluctance to make substitutions have been branded as cautious to the point of obstinance, with one friend suggesting: “Southgate wears a seatbelt on the toilet”.
But none of that matters now.
Ollie Watkins’ 90th minute winning goal against the Netherlands was just the kind of quality England has been lacking all tournament. If that kind of flair is available, surely England are in with a chance of beating Spain on Sunday.
If they can, Southgate will be heralded as a genius.
Crazier things have happened, like when Greece won the Euros 20 years ago.
England – and the UK in general – could do with cheering up.
Life here has become noticeably more expensive. The cost of food, rent and mortgage payments has risen sharply, while wages are mostly stagnant, leaving many people feeling much poorer.
That’s why a little over a week ago the Conservative Party was handed a historical, humiliating defeat at the ballot box, with the Labour Party of Keir Starmer taking a landslide, with a huge mandate for change.
England winning a major tournament could truly make this a feel good summer, and that’s why I’ll be pulling on my England shirt again this Sunday.
