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The evening after the morning before

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 I am so tired. Like presumably everyone else, I was crushed when the England game KO moved from 1am, to 2am. Originally the whole staying up thing was very much do-able, a full 4 hours between the likely conclusion and the kids getting up. Then that number became 3 and the nerves set in. I was chatting about the relative merits of booze or coffee to help stay awake the extra hour, when someone helpfully recommended food as a third option. So there I was, 1.35am, eating a nice spicy chicken pizza, washed down with some neck oil, awake, and blissfully unaware of the mayhem that was to follow. 

I'd not seen a whole lot of Mexico, their games I presumably normally being in the night-time, so highlights aside, where they'd looked fluid and fun, I didn't really know much about them. But things became quickly clear, we were in for a game. Not in a Congo kind of way, where I felt comfortable we'd come out on top. This one was a genuine backs-to-the-wall effort. There's something so satisfying about that kind of England performance. It all seemed very heroic. The diving header from Bellingham, the ghosting run, from er, Bellingham. Kane slotting the spot kick. I've normally rejected the notion that we have individual stars, preferring us to have a more balanced attitude to our squad - but there is no denying that those two are basically England in this tournament. Maybe we are successfully following the model of other teams (like Norway, Portugal, Argentina) where the other 9 or 10 players exist to basically protect and service the main person - very much an international football phenomenon. The only problem with this model, is that in a straight shootout between Odegaard/Haaland vs Bellingham/Kane, it all feels too close to call, whereas in XI v XI I'd feel much more confident. 

Norway, of course, saw off Brazil, and totally deserved to. Seeing a passing stat at some point where Norway had completed 530+ and Brazil just over 200, brought home just how far the mighty have fallen. All very Temu Brazil which is a shame, because there were glimmers. What else has happened? France beat Paraguay, which I'm sure Stevie will feed back on, but from the armchair that was a fascinating game, a brilliant, if highly illegal (and a taint on the game blah blah) defensive effort from Paraguay, where the good guys eventually triumphed. Competent Morocco saw off Canada, which I'm not sad about. Jesse Marche is deeply unlikeable. Columbia look pretty good value and beat Ghana. I didn't post updates about the Australia game (losing on pens to Egypt) or the Switzerland game (beating Algeria), because I have an deep-seated dislike for the football that both of those teams play. It doesn't excite me in any way whatsoever - and that from a person who will lap up Vietnam vs Iraq or equivalent at a major tournament. 

And so what next? Portugal vs Spain in a bit. That could be really good. Portugal seem to be settling into the tournament, playing less and less in the 'service the hero' template; and whilst it was funny seeing Ronaldo not score, it is also very good to see him scoring....siiiuuuuuuu. The top scorer chart is genuinely looking like we are witnessing peak talent delivering like never before. And whilst I need to catch up on sleep, I feel like I really need to at least listen in on USA v Belgium in the night, where presumably 7.1bn people will be siding with the Belgians after red card/brown envelope gate.


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