They’re coming home...

Picture: Football Association

We may now be up to 52 years of hurt, but the pain has been considerably dulled. The editorial post-mortems will quite rightly ask questions of what happened to England after Kieran Trippier’s remarkable free kick put them ahead after five minutes; of why they seemed unable to maintain possession as Croatia gained confidence; of why they resorted to the long ball tactics we thought had been left behind when Sven-Goran Eriksson stood down after the 2006 World Cup; of why Dele Alli went missing and Harry Kane was largely anonymous. And, yes, some questions, too, about ‘Sir’ Gareth Southgate. But, perhaps, these inquisitions are for another day.

As everyone - from TV commentators to newspaper pundits to pub experts - has commented, England’s progress through the 2018 World Cup has been nothing short of incredible, and welcomely restorative at the same time. Cynics from other lands might say a little success has gone to our heads, but if these last four weeks have been intoxicated by unseasonably summery summer weather mixed with England winning games, then so be it. If nothing else, it’s given us a welcome diversion from all the other nonsense going on in the world.

We have become so used to doom and gloom around the England team, with dismal, premature exits from competitions, that for once, the national love-in with Southgate and his men has been entirely justified. The young England manager, himself, has cultivated this: in an age of hate and cynicism, fuelled by social media’s free-for-all and the notable loss of civility that appears to have been engendered by Brexit and Trump, Southgate’s manners, intelligence and dignity have been counter to the times. Even those who say “it’s all very well him being so polite, what about the performances?” will have to concede that it mostly went right. Which is much more than can be said for any of his recent predecessors. The waistcoat-and-tie smartness isn’t an act: when Southgate was appointed it was unfairly surmised that he was the last option left. The FA had run out of ‘exotic’ propositions like Capello or journeymen like Roy Hodgson and Sam ‘One Game’ Allardyce, and that appointing an FA insider like Southgate was the safest political option. Maybe it was, but didn’t it work out well?!

So what has made the difference between the abject departure to Iceland in 2016 and defeat to Croatia in 2018? Surely the core of the squad is the same? The difference is that the England in Russia this summer has been more cohesive and focused on the task. The universal decry after that Iceland game was that England were, essentially, eleven overpaid Premier League superstars doing whatever they thought their self-appointed talents should be applied to. This time, England have looked like a band of brothers which, surprisingly, has enabled them to largely avoid the petty tribalism of who they play for in their day jobs. True, this England squad has, perhaps, a disproportionate number of Spurs players, who have - let the records show - no silverware to show for their exalted status, but somehow even the most vehement anti-Tottenham fans have rallied around Harry Kane. Possibly not Dele Alli, though.

In fairness, this World Cup has been the making of some of these young England players. Jordan Pickford comes immediately to mind: relatively short for a goalkeeper, and not exactly from the ‘cool’ quadrant of the Premier League, he has demonstrated himself to be an impressively reactive stopper, not least of which in that penalty shootout. Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker and Jon Stones, too, have enhanced their reputations enormously, applying a three-man central defence model (for which Antonio Conte deserves some credit) that pushed into midfield with decisiveness. Raheem Stirling should also be mentioned here: still mystifyingly divisive amongst fans, his penetrative pace was one of the bright spots in England’s attack. Less so, Kane and Alli. The former was often poorly served in the open play which his reputation has been built at Tottenham (that he still leads the Golden Boot is mostly down to his impressive spot kick record). With Alli, who may have been carrying injury, he just seemed to be played too deep in some games, and was too standoff in others (especially last night), to make himself useful in front of goal. Tempting as it is to niggle further, I won’t. Because to do so would be to submit to the default behaviour we’ve all been guilty of down the years.

That we’re not all self-flagellating this morning in the usual fashion is testament to how England actually did. Defeat in a semi-final has been accepted by a glass half-full, that England only went out after 120 minutes and a single-goal margin. People are, thankfully, even prepared to ignore that England met their match against Croatia. I had been increasingly wound up by all the ‘football’s coming home’ hoopla, and commentators making ridiculous nudge-nudge, wink-wink remarks about 1966 and Sunday’s final before a tricky semi-final with Croatia had even kicked off. As much fun as the waistcoat-wearing national euphoria was, experience has taught us that you can be over-confident. ‘Pride before a fall’, as the adage goes. But all that aside - and I’m not seeking meagre gratification here - there is much to look forward to.

As The Times pointed out today in its daily World Cup supplement, youth is on England’s side for both the next European Championships and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Under-19 pipeline is equally promising, and with Southgate’s experience from managing England’s youth set-up - effectively, into the senior team - for once we should not be pointing our eyes skyward at the thought of the next tournament being another pointless exercise. Contrary to the negative narrative going into this World Cup - both about the competition itself and England’s prospects - we have all emerged with a smile on our faces, and none of the usual caustic resentment. Ain’t that a breeze?