Before the game:
The time is here. Will the day end as a ‘YAY’ day or a ‘Meh’ day. Only time will tell. The papers gave us an indication of what the outcome might be, which was not much actually. The teams are equally poised with a 50-50 chance. The boys have done us proud so far and hope they will deliver today.
Last week I was rooting for Alcira’s team to win, but today friendships have to be put aside. They have a strong team and anything is possible. So here I am waiting for the game to start channeling all my energy to the England team and sending bad vibes to the Colombian side. Every time I watch a game, the team I want to win loses and so I wonder if this is a good idea. Kavitha is not here and so I’m free to shout and scream at the screen. There was an article today for those who didn’t have a clue about football to talk the talk although I will not be walking the walk.
It has been nice to read the human stories behind the games. The inspirational stories of the young stars. The ones who will be replacing the established giants of the game such as Messi and Ronaldo. Kylian Mbappe, the young French teenager’s 19 mph dash to score a goal. Then our own stars, Kane, Sterling, Lingard, Rashford etc. Kane, the captain, is a local lad and then there is the manager, Southgate, with his own inimitable style. Reading about his childhood gave us an idea of where the waistcoat came from and his impeccable manners. It was enough for M&S’s waistcoat sales to go through the roof.
Half time: both teams are equally poised. No goals so far. There were 2 or 3 nerve wracking instances but nothing happened. We don’t want to go to penalties. England hasn’t got a good track record there. Did you watch the Denmark/ Croatia penalty shoot out? Wasn’t it just brilliant? I don’t think I will be able to sit through that if we come to a penalty shoot out.
Murali is watching the England- India 20/20 cricket match which is playing at Old Trafford. Yes, there is a staunch Indian cricket fan in this household even though he has lived in this country way longer than me, forty four years to be precise. He doesn’t have a clue what he’s missing.
First goal. A penalty shot by Kane. Yessssssss. Come on England. Football’s coming home.
The poor American referee is having a tough time dealing with the players. Yellow cards are being dished out like there is no tomorrow. All in Columbia’s way mind you.
Yerry Mina equalises in stoppage time. I don’t think I can do this. Sit through another half an hour of torture. India won the cricket match.
I couldn’t watch the extra time play. It looks like some of my colleagues couldn’t either including Alcira. Now it’s the penalty shootout time. If I get through it I will post this message.
We got through it together. Roger, Alcira, Elaine and I. We were too stressed out and whatsapp helped us watch it together through half closed eyes and we did it. We did it. We did it. Yay. Football’s coming home. The article this morning told me to say this phrase by the way. Alcira is upset but she can also support England. So it’s a win win situation. I just found out that I will miss England’s game this Saturday. Bummer.
