Are England Actually The Good Guys?
Words by Dylan Mangan.
The last time England were in a semifinal, just under three years ago, most of the country had convinced themselves that football was finally coming home. A solid team with good setpieces had finally broken the penalty curse in their quarter final against Colombia, and were well on their way to a first major championship win in 52 years. They lost, of course, and football was left in the driveway, rain pouring down, as it banged on the door begging to be brought inside. It’s the hope that kills you, and three years later, a country finds itself as hopeful as ever.
That hope is often underlined by a weirdly sinister edge. Was it the hope that forced England to call up John Terry to the squad in 2012 despite his racist abuse of Anton Ferdinand the previous year? Or was it the hope that led to a vocal minority of England fans booing their own players as they took the knee just weeks before the tournament started? Maybe the hope wrote articles about Raheem Sterling’s terrible mistake of buying a house after England were knocked out of EURO 2016, we’ll never know for sure.
So the hope is back, and so are some of the old familiar tropes. Boris Johnson stood on a massive England flag. Priti Patel tweeted #ItsComingHome weeks after criticising the players taking the knee, and a day before publishing tougher laws on refugees trying to flee to the perceived safety of England. Fans near Covent Garden marched and chanted “Two World Wars and one World Cup” after beating Germany. The same fans must be excited to face Denmark on Wednesday so they can chant about their victory in the Gunboat War of the early 1800’s. That’s how it works isn’t it?
It’s hard being Irish at this time, especially living in London. With each passing victory, the celebrations get louder and longer. With each goal or clean sheet, the smiles are more self-righteous. This is England. This is the land of football. Winning this time around is destiny. However, each team at this stage could call upon destiny. Italy didn’t qualify for the last World Cup and now look the best team in Europe, Spain have had the most up and down tournament possible and are still here, and if any team can point at powers unknown it must be Denmark after the trauma of Christian Eriksen’s collapse in their first group game.
While the media and fuss surrounding the England team is impossible to like, the players and their manager are among the most inspiring footballers the country has ever had. Marcus Rashford has raised at least £20m for various charities, forced a Tory government to admit the cruelty in removing free school meals, and released a book aimed at children to help build their self-esteem. Raheem Sterling has put up with years of racist abuse from newspapers and fans, all the while standing up for himself and leading a change in how players can use their power for good. Jordan Henderson responded to Matt Hancock’s weak attempts at vilifying footballers during the pandemic by creating the ‘Players Together’ initiative to support the NHS. Tyrone Mings has been brave in standing up against Priti Patel’s insidious opposition to Black Lives Matter. They could easily sit and say nothing, as so many of those in the public eye do and have done for years. In a country of culture wars, the English football team and it’s players are refusing to be used as pawns in the game, instead standing up for what they believe in.
The team have been led brilliantly in this sense by Gareth Southgate, a man who has recognised the need for England’s manager to be a spokesperson as well as coach. He has led with empathy, and developed a team full of caring people who can be considered successful whether they win or not. It’s funny to think what English football might look like had Sam Allardyce not been sacked for accepting bungs after only one match in charge. It is hard to see him dealing with the various delicate political situations faced by Southgate with the same grace and strength of conviction. Southgate has been the figurehead in standing up against fans and politicians that could have easily derailed their tournament before it started.
A win for England would mean lots of things. It would mean more bandwagon jumping from a government who were on board as soon as it started polling well. It would mean images of fans with Union Jack tattoos on their stomachs and Churchill on their arms. It would mean an insufferable level of typical British superiority. But it would also mean victory for a group of men who stand in direct opposition to that, who are making positive changes in football and in society. It would mean a win for a group who are changing what it means to be a footballer, and would that be so bad?
Football will always be about community, but so much of our reaction to it is overly personal. We’re happy when our rivals lose because we can hold that against them. We despair when they win because we can’t bear to see them happy at our expense. The idea of England winning a tournament is so stomach-turning because I’ll be the one trying to sleep while car horns go off and drunken lads scream as they go past my window, not because the English players did better than anyone else. I’ll still be supporting Denmark on Wednesday, and whoever the opponent is in a potential final - I desperately want the satisfaction of going into work and laughing at my colleagues. I could never cheer for England, but if they win this time around, those who do it will be deserving of the acclaim. We’ll never hear the end of it.
