Penalty Kicks

I had forgotten about the sheer brutality and cruelty of penalty shootouts.  And we had two of them today.  How did I ever survive England's numerous penalty shootout losses from the 1990 World Cup through to the 2020 Euros?  What anxiety and heartbreak to endure.  I remain convinced I will never see England win a major tournament in my lifetime.  Tragic.  

Cutlery

I seem to have an alarming habit of (accidentally) throwing away cutlery.  At least that is the only explanation I have for why some of my forks keep on mysteriously disappearing.  I have seemingly lost one over the last week.  And this isn't the first time.  I could've rooted through the trash trying to find it, but I suspect it's long gone in the last trash collection.  It's not like I have a particularly expensive or noteworthy cutlery set - we are talking Amazon Basics rather than silver sterling here - but still rather annoying.

England 2-0 Panama

Mental health is important.  It's something I struggle with and need to take more measures to address.  Well, it started today with a small step.  At quarter time of the England-Panama game, I switched to watching the other game going on at the same time.  Watching England play is bad for my mental health.  Their ineptness is incredibly frustrating, incredibly stressful, and incredibly unhealthy.  They absolutely suck, and I hope they don't progress far (which they won't based on the last couple of performances).  I'm supporting Team USA from now on.

Pride Night

As I write this, Egypt and Iran are currently playing at "Seattle Stadium" in the World Cup.  I'm not actually watching the game, I'm watching the other one that is being played simultaneously.  But I wanted to mention the Seattle game because it is somewhat controversial.  It is the only official "Pride Match" in the World Cup.  A fact protested by both Egypt and Iran - where homosexuality is criminalized.  Nonetheless, and somewhat surprisingly, they've allowed rainbow flags in the stadium.  Much to the chagrin of the two teams.  But probably making for a very colorful spectacle.  But as I say, I have no idea as I'm not watching the game and I haven't seen any pictures or highlights from it either.  I don't actually know how well attended the game is either.  But I imagine it's quite a heady mix of Egypt fans, Iran fans, pride supporters and protesters downtown this evening.

Grrr Work

It's been horribly busy at work this week.  And it has ruined my World Cup watching.  Incredibly annoying.  Because as much as I hate FIFA and I hate the US hosting the World Cup, I am watching a lot of the games.  At least it's our company shutdown next week, so I can watch as much or as little as I want then.  Unfortunately the week after the shutdown is going to be hellishly busy.  I'm really not enjoying my job right now.  It's stressing me out, and my already poor work-life balance plus lack of healthy routine is not doing me any good.  The week off couldn't be timed better - so long as I don't think about work during that week.  Which is easier said than done.       

Houston

I don't know how much this made the UK news, but the BBC managed to become a laughing stock in the US during the World Cup.  The reason?  During the World Cup coverage, at one point the studio background featured the Houston skyline plus a mountain range.  Only one problem with that.  Houston is, famously, nowhere near any mountains.  This background was clearly AI-generated.  

Cue a LOT of social media roasting.    

England 0-0 Ghana

Yes, this is the England I expected to see.  Frustrating, turgid, uninspiring, absolutely incapable of breaking down a defensive opposition.  And absolutely horrible to watch - an offensive flurry in the last 5 minutes does not make up for 85 minutes of awfulness.  And the worst game in the World Cup so far.  England's first game performance was clearly an aberration.  This is the norm - and eerily similar to what happened in the last World Cup when we drew 0-0 in our second game against the US.  With the players we have, some of the team selection and formation remains baffling.  I saw absolutely no evidence of improved tactical nous that might be expected from our new manager.  I still expect England to top the group, but on the strength of today's outing it confirms my belief that we have no chance of winning the World Cup.  I wore my England top today.  I'm embarrassed by it, so if I go out later then I think I will change.