(Doha) When filing my ticket requests last summer, there was one match that I wanted to see more than the others. The one between England and Wales. A British derby. A fraternal duel between a nation of 57 million inhabitants and its neighbor of 3 million souls. The Three Lions against a little kitty.
I was already anticipating the poster. A decisive match between David and Goliath. Imagine a Welsh victory. The last time was in a tournament between the nations of the United Kingdom, in 1984. Wham! carded. Lady Diana was pregnant. No current player from either team had been born yet.
I was super excited – until the tournament started. The more the World Cup progressed, the more I regretted having preferred this confrontation to that between the Iranians and the Americans. When the Welsh lined up for their anthem, sung proudly and loudly by their few thousand supporters, they knew their mission was near impossible. To advance to the next round, it took them at least one victory, combined with a draw between the Iranians and the Americans. Otherwise, a win by three or more goals. Might as well try to get a rainbow tifo into the stadium.
The Doha miracle did not happen. Not even close. Oh, it’s true that at half-time, the Welsh were not dropped. It was 0-0. The most plaaaaaaate half of the tournament. Except that the Reds never touched the ball in opposing territory. Returning from the break, the Three Lions began to roar. At the 50e minute, Marcus Rashford fired a free kick straight to the net. A laser, which Danny Ward couldn’t do anything about. 1-0. English spectators began to taunt their rivals. “Tomorrow morning you will go home,” they sang. The chorus was not yet over that Phil Foden had already doubled the lead. So the fans moved on to the players’ celebratory song.
“Na-na-na-na-na, na-na, na-na-na, na-na-na” (Repeat four times)
A few minutes later, Rashford, again him, definitively put an end to the hopes of the Welsh, with his second goal of the match. Switching him and Foden aside at half-time was a happy move by coach Gareth Southgate. “We thought that by reversing them, they could overflow, or sting towards the center, which they did well in the second half. »
Final score: 3-0. A one-sided game.
The English therefore end the first round with two wins and a draw, at the top of their group. Their differential of +7 is the highest at the moment in this World Cup, tied with that of Spain. The nine goals are also a team record for the group stage. Next opponents: the Senegalese.
Could this finally be the year of the English? This is the stated ambition.
“Winning trophies is what makes me happiest,” exclaimed Marcus Rashford after his double. I feel that we have ambition within this team. We have a good mix of qualities. Our group is really aiming for the final victory in this tournament. »
I am not yet convinced of the potential of the English. Yes, they dominated the Iranians (6-2) and the Welsh. But their draw against the Americans (0-0) was worrying. It did not seem to me to be an accident, but the continuation of a difficult summer in the League of Nations, marked by defeats against Hungary and Italy, both absent from this World Cup. No doubt, they have punch on offense. Harry Kane is in good shape. Foden and Rashford shine. Young Jude Bellingham is having a blast. Bukayo Sako and Raheem Sterling also stood out in the match against the Iranians. However, consistency is a problem. It will be interesting to see in the coming days how they hold up against better attacking teams. This is what will determine if they have what it takes to win their first title in a long time.
The last time ? It was in 1966.
The Beatles were on tour. Head coach Gareth Southgate was not yet born. And the Toronto Maple Leafs would soon win their last Stanley Cup…