A "live" blog - as I write this whilst watching the England game. Or not so much watch, as put through the emotional wringer. I've once again contrived to have unreasonably high expectations for England, which will inevitably lead to nothing but massive disappointment and failure. Too much focus on the potential games ahead, rather than the actual game right in front of you. Mind you, I don't think Sweden pose much of a threat for whichever team wins this one.
- Harry Maguire looks like he could easily put on 20 stone if he didn't play football
- I've said it before, and I'll say it again, our national anthem absolutely sucks. But presumably when the queen dies or steps down, then we'll have to change it right?
- Sounds like more England fans in Moscow than expected - though suspect they will still be in the minority
- I'm not going to comment on the quality of the American commentators, but I am going to mention how much I dislike the FIFA rules expert that they employ, Dr Joe Machnik. Nope, not Joe Machnik but DOCTOR Joe Machnik. Douchebag.
- I prefer England's red shirts to their white shirts. I want to get a red shirt when I'm back in the UK (sadly, my current England shirt no longer fits me - obviously absolutely nothing to do with any potential weight gain in the last 15+ years since I got it, it must have shrunk in the wash)
- American ref? Hmmmm
- Slow start to the game. It seems like any England possession is going to be booed heavily.
- Set pieces - we need to capitalize. First couple have been disappointing. Doesn't bode well, since that is where all our goals come from
- First half-chance for Kane - nothing for Colombia yet. I keep on spelling Colombia as Columbia.
- I get butterflies ever time we try to play out of defense
- I get the impression that most of the good-locking fans they cut to with camera shots are probably ringers put in there by the Russians
- First quarter - fairly open game with no real good chances yet. I think Colombia are happy to sit back and counter. We've got to try to break them down somehow, which might be tough. Set plays are key.
- 4 corners - all disappointing so far.
- Don't slow the game down - England have the rested players and need to play with pace, we can turn their defenders
- Bit of a nothing game really so far - I can already feel the tension ratcheting up
- That should have been a RED CARD for a headbutt. Why didn't they review that? This free kick is ridiculous - the wall wasn't behind the line, and it's taking ages. Jeez. Some dirty games from the South Americans - no surprises there
- Tempers are getting raised - this could turn into a messy game
- End of the first half - this is nothing like England's first 2 games, going to be decided on a moment of skill or a moment of madness.
- American studio analysis of the game at halftime is as pathetic as it has been all tournament. As much talk about the game as about Ronaldo possibly moving to Juventus. Whatever.
- Weird start to the 2nd half - the ice dispenser on my fridge suddenly decided to spit out loads of ice.
- This has got 0-0 and penalties written over it so far. Colombia almost playing for it with 40 minutes to go
- We need to think about subs - we're not breaking them down at the moment.
- Jeez, look at all the shenanigans on the corner - PENALTY
- And now all the shenanigans delaying the penalty - absolutely appalling.
- YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Deserved after the attempted dirty mind games.
- Ref is totally losing control of this game.
- At least Colombia have to come out of their shell now. They are playing extremely negatively - trying to provoke England.
- This is turning into a rugby game - someone is going to get sent off soon
- Whatever happens - Colombia deserve to lose this game.
- This is the first game in this tournament that I can recall that has devolved like this. We won't be seeing any more American involvement in the tournament after this - the referee is having a shocker
- Colombia haven't posed any threat going forward, but I still feel like they're going to get a chance
- Could do with a 2nd just to make it a bit more comfortable
- 10 minutes to go - we should have counter opportunities. Still don't feel Colombia are posing any real threat so far
- That was Colombia's chance - after ANOTHER Walker error. Lucky.
- We cannot make mistakes. That is the only way they will beat us.
- 5 minutes to go. Tension almost unbearable
- England not spectacular today, but for the most part solid.
- Not impressed by Colombia - tried to play dirty, and played not to lose rather than to win
- 5 minutes injury time.
- This has been a not very pretty and not very memorable game, To add to a comfortable game (against Panama) and a game we wanted to lose (against Belgium). I don't remember a tournament like this before for England.
- OH NO. Conceding from a corner. Drama.
- How does England contrive to let Colombia back into it. Totally undeserving yet somehow inevitable.
- Colombia acting like they've won the game. If they get through this, absolutely depressing and undeserving. Making me angry rather than despairing. Especially with England having come so close to seeing out the game.
- Extra time - we need a David Platt-esque moment.
- I'm not sure I want to watch extra time. I'm hungry - I haven't had lunch yet - and I fear the worst. I'm going to stop blogging now, and will revisit the end of the game later.
Post-game addendum:
I couldn’t bear to watch extra time and/or penalties – instead I drove into work. Just knew it was going to come down to penalties. I stopped to get a sandwich on the way, and checked updates on my phone then. I saw that we were down in the penalty shootout – but then someone near me in the store shouted yes. I could see he was watching the shootout on his phone, but I couldn’t see the score. A quick refresh on my phone – and miracle upon miracles, we’d won. Talk about making things difficult, but it’s the result that matters. I guess no more talk about the decision to rest players against Belgium. I don’t think I would have been disappointed if we’d lost, I’d have been furious – the way Colombia played was a disgrace, with that head butt and their delaying tactics before Kane’s penalty in the 2nd half. So I think it was the right result – and the fair result for the “beautiful game”. And in this manner – that is surprisingly great “testicular fortitude” shown by England. It’s the kind of result that makes you believe we could go further – I think we have to be favorites against Sweden, who I wasn’t particularly impressed with against Switzerland.
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