Southgate's shot at redemption keeps me awake at night
I broke out in a cold sweat. It was the middle of the night – 4:16am to be precise – and I’d wrestled like a Panamanian defender or a politician for power with the idea that what if, tonight, the best team won? A clean, straight battle, akin to what we’d seen in the France v Belgium game, between two teams who have exceeded expectations to get to the semi-final? Samuel Umtiti scored the winning goal in a fair contest untainted by drama or allegations, leaving three teams. And yet, the raging pessimist inside my head reminds me that England, should they lose to Croatia, can still finish fourth. The phrase “don’t get your hopes up” was coined, I’m sure, with the England football team in mind. The thought of bowing out gracefully in the semi-finals fleetingly appeals instead of suffering the gut-wrenching agony and potential worldwide humiliation of being inglorious runners up to our Gallic neighbours. Croatia will pose England’s sternest test of the tournament to date. The sprink...