One game in and whilst it might be too early to proclaim ‘it’s coming home’ you’d be forgiven for feeling that it’s at the airport, passport and boarding pass in hand and about to go through security.
Low expectations, as ever
I’m drafting this the day after England’s initially nervy, then majestic first 2026 World Cup game against Croatia. I usually have low expectations of England’s performance, particularly in the early rounds of competitions, mainly borne out of their history of making hard work of the group stages. In the Southgate years, we often started sluggishly, then gone through to almost winning trophies. “Almost” being the operative word but that should not overshadow the achievement of us getting to a final for the first time in fifty-five years.
A welcome bit of togetherness
Many Argus readers might have no interest in the World Cup and several will be cheering other countries. However, the national fervour and expectation that arrives each time we enter a major competition brings a welcome surge of joy and oneness to this divided country while simultaneously seeing us sit nervously on the edge of our seats waiting for the rug to be pulled.
That penalty palaver
I had no expectation that England would put on anything other than a mediocre performance against Croatia on Wednesday night and the first half did nothing to dissuade me. That ‘here we go again feeling’ came early in the game when Harry Kane hop skipped and jumped to his first penalty attempt which, whilst saved, was ruled out due to encroachment by a defender and the keeper coming off his line. I hate those little dances some players do before taking penalties (yes Eze, as an Arsenal supporter horrified at your quickstep in the Champions League Final, I’m looking at you) but thankfully Kane was more conventional on his second attempt and went on to score a scorcher from a set piece too. But it was Croatia who scored the better goals and I had this sinking feeling that they would go from strength to strength.
Something I’d never seen
However, something happened at half time that I’ve not witnessed before. I’m not talking about Thomas Tuchel’s half time talk as, of course, we’re not privy to that but when his assistant, Anthony Barry, came on screen and ripped into the way England were playing, speaking of ‘fearful patterns’ and ‘a nervous energy’ then picking out the team’s tactical errors, we got a glimpse into a very new England era of brutal honesty and transparency. It’s worth watching because assuming this was the filtered version, one can only imagine how ‘the speech the manager gave’ as Harry Kane put it after the game must have rocked each of the players to the core but also provided a surge of momentum and the intensity we saw. The second-half performance and stats speak for themselves and it was only the Croatian goalkeeper, Dominik Livakovic’s brilliant displays that kept England’s victory to just 4-2.
Have we turned a corner?
I like Sir Gareth Southgate and think his tenure as England manager was exactly what the national team needed in terms of instilling self-belief, positivity and a true sense of team. As a reminder, he took England to two major finals, a semi-final and a quarter final, feats that we could have only dreamt of a few years before. The BBC TV drama, “Dear England“, based on a stage play of the same name and made with Southgate’s full co-operation and blessing, shows how much this Crawley boy did for the team and national pride. I was sad when he left and puzzled when Thomas Tuchel was appointed, however on this one game I’m sensing a real possibility that England have turned yet another corner, capitalising on the players’ individual brilliance and their Premier League heritage. There is no reason why we should not be up there as genuine competitors to win the iconic golden trophy on the 19th of July.
First, Ghana and Panama
Of course, before we can even start to plan the victory parade, we must first get past Ghana and Panama and, as we know, nothing is guaranteed in football. Whilst it is often said it is the hope that kills you, it’s all we have just now so let’s embrace it and pray we can re-write that age old song into the past tense.
I originally wrote this for my weekly column in The Argus, published on Monday, 22 June 2026.
