A long time ago I made a promise that I now regret, that should England ever get to the final of one of these things I will support them in that final.
That was a promise made in a different era, when the England team was inevitably hyped beyond their ability, they were frankly a rather unappealing lot, and the management wasn't exactly great. So they'd inevitably do okay for a while, then meet a team that was actually good and go out.
Things have changed somewhat - the hype has dropped somewhat (at least at the outset of the tournament), several of the players are shockingly likeable (indeed, Rashford is the closest to a Leader of the Opposition we have these days), and they have a manager blessed with actual talent, rather than just ego and reputation. All in all, they're not a team I would feel particularly bad about supporting.
(There is the issue of the dive, which isn't good. But it does seem England genuinely were the better team last night, so... Besides, their opponents are Italy. I do wonder, though, what sort of a final we're going to have if all 22 players spend the entire match prone.)
My main concern is two-fold, and is largely a media problem: on the one hand, the various commentators are just insufferable. I really don't understand why we in Scotland have to have this coverage of what is, after all, a rival nation foisted upon us. The other is the knowledge that if England win we will just never hear the end of it.
But the worst thing of all is that this is an England (the country, not the team) that has forced Brexit on the rest of us, and then landed us with the murderous incompetence of Boris Johnson right when we're in the midst of a global pandemic. And if England win, he will of course take full credit. Anything that gives succour to this government really needs to be opposed.
So the timing really, really sucks.
But a promise is a promise. For the duration of the match on Sunday, England have my support.
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