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I’ve not had a chance to post anything about the 2006 World Cup so far: Pressures of work and home have meant my weblog appearances have been reduced of late. But I have been watching, and suffering, along with all the other England fans out there.

So this afternoon’s match against Portugal will of course mean I’ll be glued to the build-up and match itself. Not many pubs in Glasgow are showing a large English following, and to be honest I’m happier with a beer and a critical chat with Frances’ father Bernard, than a bunch of raving Scots cheering on the whomever-England-are-currently-playing opposition (and finding goodness knows how many ways to justify it, when it’s all a bit of a silly, somewhat juvenile, joke that’s getting a bit out of hand on both sides).

I’m enjoying it so far, and am confident England will do well today. England have a habit of playing to the level expected or needed, and today’s match has it all. A long history of losing against Portugal, managers with vastly different approaches, one manager having turned down the others job, the temperature thing, the prize at stake, and the ongoing England strategy dilemma, brought about by Owen’s early exit and Ericsson’s moment-of-madness taking an untried teenager in place of more seasoned and experienced strikers.

So, before anybody even touches a football, the game has all the makings of a classic. So long as it’s fluid and fair, and not ugly (like the match against Holland), I’m sure we’ll be in for a treat with no end of worries for the England fan. Hopefully a treat for even the non-football fan too.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 1st, 2006 at 1:19 pm and is filed under Football, Sport, UK. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.