The English press and its hype. Since England started its World Cup campaign with a couple of emphatic performances against Tunisia and Panama, supporters of the Three Lions have been hoping that the World Cup trophy will head to England after their solitary win in 1966.
Their first real test came in the final match of the group stage where they were surgically dispatched by tournament favorites Belgium. That would have worried most people- Belgium was the first real opposition they would face and they came second in the contest.
The Colombia match was a chance for England to escape the misery that has plagued them for decades. A so-called tournament curse had dealt terribly with successive teams. Maradona robbed them of a chance to win in 1986 through his infamous ‘hand of God’ goal. In 1990, they lost through penalties to West Germany.
They shockingly failed to qualify for USA 94 and were eliminated by Argentina (again) in the second round through penalties (again). Portugal defeated them through penalties AGAIN at Germany 2006. They had forgettable appearances in 2010 and 2014 courtesy of shocking goalkeeping and referee error.
However, in 2018, they were hoping to get over all of this. For the first time in a long time, the England team was brimming with confidence. And why not? Harry Kane was on a roll, having come off the back of a successful league season. As a matter of fact, the team was made of hungry, talented youngsters who had a point to prove.
It was have seemed like the curse was striking again as Colombia got an equalizing goal in the last minute of regulation time after trailing England for the most part of the game. The Colombians were chomping at the bits, taking to the fight to England at every point.
Eventually, the match went into penalties, to the consternation of everybody concerned. It could go either way. Fortunately, it went England’s way, to the relief of manager Gareth Southgate – who once had the misfortune of losing his own spot kick as a player at Euro 96.
This is how much it meant to English newspapers. Click here to see how the match was reported in their media.
Now with only Sweden between England and a place in the semifinals, England are right to starting dreaming. Football may be going home!
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