GOM World Cup Diary #26: Is It? Is It Really?

England made history last night.

A 3-2 victory over Mexico at the mighty Azteca, a stadium where very few visiting teams have enjoyed themselves over the years, saw England book their place in the quarter-finals. England finished with ten men, VAR was once again busier than the referee, and by the final whistle the television pundits were already dusting off the old phrases.

“Could this be England’s year?”

Really?

Is it?

Is it really?

Football has a wonderful habit of making fools of anyone who speaks with absolute certainty.

One result and suddenly England are world beaters.

One defeat and they’re apparently in need of rebuilding from the ground up.

It isn’t just football, though.

We’re all guilty of it.

One sunny weekend and we’re convinced summer has finally arrived.

One good month at work and we start looking at new cars.

One disappointing meal in a restaurant and we declare we’ll never go back again.

Everything has become instant. Instant opinions. Instant experts. Instant certainty.

Then, just to remind us that football has a wicked sense of humour, Norway went and beat Brazil 2-0.

Not just Norway.

Erling Haaland and ten other Norwegians, if the headlines are anything to go by.

Yesterday people were talking about Brazil’s route to the final. Today they’re wondering whether anyone can stop Haaland. By tomorrow somebody else will probably be the tournament favourites.

Funny old game.

England’s reward for conquering the Azteca is now a quarter-final against Norway and, more specifically, a very large centre-forward who seems to have developed the annoying habit of scoring whenever he feels like it.

Will England beat Norway?

Is football finally coming home?

Has Haaland become unstoppable?

Is it?

Is it really?

Perhaps we’ve forgotten that sport is at its most enjoyable because nobody actually knows what’s going to happen next. If we did, there’d be no point watching.

So forgive me if I resist joining the chorus of certainty.

I’ll celebrate England’s victory.

I’ll admire Norway’s performance.

And then I’ll wait to see what happens next.

It’s amazing how often that’s the wisest approach, both in football and in life.

Anyway, what do I know?

I’m just a grumpy old man.

Drop a comment. Misery loves company, and I’m excellent company

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