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Full throttle

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 Forty-eight hours since I posted and it feels like a lot has happened. This is when the tournament hits its stride. Games and goals a-plenty, and the relentless surge of the group games just rolls on and on. One thing that has struck me a lot about this tournament is the inconsistency of kick-off times. Where usually there are 3 set time slots for games, this one legitimately seems random. We've had 5pm, 6pm, 8pm, 9pm, 11pm, midnight, 2am, 3am and 5am games, at least. Those are the ones I remember. And it is playing havoc with my routine. Basically, the viewer needs to stay awake and alert at all times. 

Cape Verde brought the tournament's first huge upset, holding Spain to a thrilling 0-0 draw, and that sparked a series of draws - Uruguay had a particularly bad tempered 1-1 draw vs Saudi, Belgium stunk the place out until a simply massive Lukaku came on and helped them to a draw vs Egypt and then Iran and New Zealand played out a really entertaining 2-2 draw. That flurry of stalemates then led into the big guns being wheeled out. we are blessed to have a tournament with Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe, Haaland AND Ollie Watkins all on display. Haaland bagged an easy brace against a spirited but defensively limited Iraq, Mbappe looked absolute pony in a misfiring French team, before they turned up for 30 mins and he got a brace.. Then Messi rolled back the years and bagged a sumptuous hattrick - simply amazing. Today was Ronaldo's turn, and I've just watched 90 minutes of frustration as Portugal yet again sacrificed all team shape and tactics in an attempt to supply him. Fair play to DR Congo for forcing their own draw.

And now England. Now I start to care about our fate. I'll have to look back and see if I enter every tournament with hope and excitement - I don't think I do. But with the hand-brake now off, and a crazy depth of talent in the squad, I really think we have a chance this time. We've got players who are winning things at home and abroad and genuine competition, a manager who isn't terrified of mounting an attack, or of dropping favourites. The side tonight looks balanced. Our 2 CMs are both combative, but importantly can progress the football as well - a huge departure from Southgateball. I think this is a generational chance for us to go all the way. I say it every time, I love the tournament with or without us in it, so the whole thing is win-win from my perspective, but I really predict that we need to buckle up and get ready for the ride, because it is going to be a good one. 

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