Why It Should Be “Coming Home”

The Three Lions have been extremely tepid so far at this summer’s tournament, but there is evidence to suggest that England can win EURO 2024. And maybe even that they should win it.

Round of 16 Scare

Let’s face it, this half of the draw has been very kind to England. We are not going to talk about their performance in the group stage, because even thinking about it makes us fall out of love with football. In short, they were very poor, but still the best. And then they went up against Slovakia in the round of 16.

As they continued to put fans to sleep with their brand of football, Kane & Co. conspired to concede the opening goal in the 25th minute, maybe just to make things interesting. Spoiler: it did not work.

Gareth Southgate’s team huffed and puffed for 70 minutes after that, creating some half-chances and showing everyone that the players were just as uninspired as the coach. Until the fifth minute of injury time.

Bellingham produced a moment of magic that did not belong in this game. It was too good a goal for how bad their display was, but it still counted. And it saved Southgate’s skin.

Then it all came crashing down for Slovakia in the very first minute of extra time, as Harry Kane scored a goal that sent his country through. It was quite ironic that the assist was provided by a player that Southgate himself said was probably “disgusted” with him for sending him on with two minutes to play and needing a goal. Should Toney have gone on sooner? Sure. Was it poetic justice that he had such a crucial role in keeping his national team coach in the job? Absolutely.

Quarter-Final Against Switzerland

The script writers were at it again, plotting to finally send England home after many seemingly undeserved second chances. Switzerland scored first in the 75th minute, after they had been knocking on England’s shoddy door for parts of the game.

But it did not last long. The Arsenal connection equalised just five minutes later, with Rice assisting for a great Saka goal. At least Southgate didn’t have to sweat for so long, right?

But then came the penalties. The English players who stepped up all did their job, scoring all five spot kicks, while Jordan Pickford raised his reputation further by saving a very poor penalty from Manuel Akanji. Nerves of steel, right?

Semi-Final on the Horizon

It will probably be a game just as tense as the previous two for England, especially since Netherlands is arguably better than Slovakia and Switzerland put together. In other words, some might say that this is the first proper test that England will undergo at EURO 2024. And we say they’re probably right.

In our opinion, a defence made up of Ake, van Dijk, de Vrij and Dumfries is, man-for-man, the best at the tournament. Put that together with how bad England have been when attacking, and we will probably have to suffer through another snoozefest. Unless England decide to make things interesting by going two goals down on Wednesday instead of just one.

So how will they overcome the Dutch wall? Probably through sheer will and a bit of fortune, just like they have so far. We are not saying that this England team is the best ever, but the sense of togetherness that comes through when they play does give them an edge that perhaps many generations did not experience. For this, see Exhibit A below, showing us none of the famous Merseyside rivalry.

The squad must also be steelier now, having had two big scares in two games and still made it so far. This is not a team that will beat Netherlands 4-0 and waltz to the final and the trophy. This is a Southgate side that will scratch, claw and bite its way to narrow victories, only looking at getting the job done. Is it pretty? Certainly not. But it might be more effective than ever.

There is plenty of quality in the squad. Whether it’s Manchester City’s defensive duo of Kyle Walker and John Stones, Arsenal’s epitome of a Rolls Royce midfielder in Declan Rice, the proven goalscoring ability of Harry Kane or the youthful exuberance of Bukayo Saka on the wing, England has a great generation that is capable of great things. We hope that Southgate feels the same way and lets them express it on the pitch sooner rather than later.

Based on all of the above and how they just never say die, we believe that it’s deservingly “coming home” this year. Are we happy about it? That’s a totally different topic.