Football Did Come Home, Just Not As We Expected
As we spent the best part of two months belting out the words of Baddiel and Skinner, we imagined a summer of celebrations and glory. With each stage of the competition, the nervous grumblings grew louder, but so did the hopelessly optimistic verses of Three Lions and World in Motion. From the moment that Kane struck home a penalty rebound in the semi-final against Denmark, England fans were swept up in the unavoidable excitement that the national game may finally bring home pride and a trophy. When we sing ‘it’s coming home’, outsiders hear arrogance and nativity. So what does it mean? Pre-Euro 2020, it meant finally restoring International domination on the grass, and ending those so-called years of hurt. After the pain of Sunday night’s penalty defeat, football may actually have really packed its bags for the short journey home from Wembley, but not for the reasons we had planned. For years, England fans remained detached from their national team. Half-baked campaigns, failed tourn