GOM World Cup Diary #35 Au Revoir Les Bleus!

Whatever Happened To Reading The Script?

One of the things I’ve learnt over the years is never to assume you know what’s going to happen.

Mind you, I still do.

Every. Single. Time.

Last night’s World Cup semi-final was a perfect example.

Before a ball had even been kicked, the football experts had already moved on to discussing France against Argentina in the Final.

France had the star names.

Mbappé.

Dembélé.

Olise.

Enough attacking talent to frighten any defence.

Spain, meanwhile, quietly went about preparing for a football match.

Funny old game.

Funny old life.

The trouble with scripts is that nobody ever gives one to the opposition.

Spain clearly hadn’t read theirs.

Instead, they did exactly what they’ve done throughout this tournament.

They stayed organised.

They defended brilliantly.

They took their chances.

And they sent France packing with a deserved 2-0 victory.

What’s remarkable is that Spain had conceded just one goal before the semi-final.

Then they faced one of the most feared attacks in world football…

…and conceded precisely none.

Reputations might sell newspapers, but they don’t score goals.

It made me wonder how often we write the ending before the story has even begun.

We do it all the time.

At work.

In business.

In life.

We assume the biggest company will win the contract.

The experienced candidate will get the job.

The favourite will lift the trophy.

Then along comes somebody who quietly gets on with doing the work while everyone else is busy reading their own headlines.

The Football Gods have a mischievous sense of humour.

The moment everybody agrees on what’s going to happen, they quietly wander off and arrange something completely different.

I suspect they spend half their time laughing at football pundits.

By kick-off, some people were already discussing how France might cope with Argentina in the Final.

The only slight flaw in that conversation…

…was Spain.

Now it’s Spain who head for the Final.

Not because France forgot how to play football.

But because Spain never believed they were there to make up the numbers.

Perhaps there’s a lesson in that for all of us.

Don’t worry too much about someone else’s reputation.

Concentrate on your own performance.

The script only matters if you stop writing your own.

Anyway, what do I know?

I’m just a grumpy old man.

Stick your thoughts below — especially if the match ruined your evening too.