Paul Hawkins reports on a night that made football memories
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It was a long day, but what a day!
Outside Wembley Stadium at 7am it was peaceful. The good people of Brent, making their way to work or school. The calm before the storm. Various international media crews were dotted around previewing England’s biggest game for 25 years and trying to find somewhere to broadcast where you didn’t need hundreds of pounds for a filming permit.
“I am from Indonesia radio” said one man: “say hello to Jarkarta”. I duly obliged, to which he smiled and shouted, “Eng-er-laaaaaand!”. Random.
Everyone was here. Including a family of Danes complete with Viking Hats, snapping selfies outside the stadium. Or so I thought.
They were actually a Geordie-Danish-English family, The Svenssons from Northumberland. Michael (Danish) and Helen (English) with their two young dual-nationality sons, Elliot and Noah. It was the boys’ first ever football match.
“Im very excited”, said Noah while Elliot was forecasting a 5-0 thrashing of England by Denmark. Both boys were supporting the Danes. Mum Helen on the other hand was flying the flag for England, predicting a 3-1 win: “The buzz around the country has been amazing. It’s coming home”.
And the buzz continued inside Wembley Boxpark, next to the stadium. A huge indoor arena with bars, a stage, street-food and music. It was strictly match-day ticket holders only and there were hundreds of them drinking, singing and largely feeling positive about the game.
The only caution - and this is purely anecdotal - came from England fans aged over 40. One told me the cautious voices of the older generation who’d been emotionally invested in England for decades had been silenced somewhat, drowned out by the youthful optimism of a younger England generation. He warned them not to get carried away.
But as the beers kept on coming and the singing became more slurred, the kids weren’t listening.
Like this young England side, they don’t carry the emotional baggage of the past. Since 2016, Gareth Southgate and the FA, with help from performance coach Owen Eastwood (a kiwi, impressive bloke, look him up) have changed the identity and culture of this England side. Instead of fear of failure and public criticism, they focus on what’s possible.
By the time I left, two hours before kick-off, Wembley Way was a sea of England shirted fans, flags, beer and singing. Even Richard the Third was there.
More importantly, there were quite a few kids there like Elliot and Noah. Forget Italia’ 90, Euro ’96 or even ’66. This was about their childhood football memories. Of being with Mum and Dad on the terrace when England actually won a semi-final.
