Here we go then. Just a matter of hours until kick-off, the big one.
Fingers crossed, nails bitten. Lucky stuff laid out. Eat what you ate for the semi-final. No jinxes.
Bad enough watching it. Imagine what it’s like for those players at Wembley.
All those matches, training sessions, sacrifices. Climbing your way up the football pyramid, breaking into the international team. It’s all for these games.
This is a different day though. This is not about cash, or fame, or glory. It’s about carrying a nation.
You can see what it’s meant to the whole place. You can see it in the pictures.
The crowds in Piccadilly Circus. Three women in hijabs out watching the game. The ecstatic fans at Wembley. Students at a Blackburn madrassa in a mad, joyful celebration when Kane scored his rebound.
Mount giving his shirt to a little girl. Schoolchildren singing Football’s Coming Home. Southgate consoling Danish players. Saka riding an inflatable unicorn. Fan parks all over the country hushed with tension then erupting with joy.
After the semi-final it felt like the whole country roared together, a collective howl of relief and hope. And who can blame us?
This has been a dark chapter in our history. The pandemic has been devastating.
It has killed millions across the world. It stopped the country in its tracks. It locked us in our homes, away from our friends, our families.
We lived in a world where a trip to the shops could end in a trip to the hospital.
If this team has done one thing it has allowed us to feel normal again. It has reminded us what we’ve been denied for so long.
It has reminded us of the simple joy of watching this beautiful game with those we love. It gave us back pride in our flag, so misused and misjudged over the years. This team took it, cleaned it, handed it back. It sparkles now. Something we can all be proud of.
The next step for these lads, and what a step, is to end all these years of hurt. It is a big ask. Unimaginable pressure. The weight of a nation. All our hopes.
But they can do it. If anyone can do it, it is this remarkable team and their remarkable manager.
We’re with you. We believe.
