2nd Semi Final, Operation Market Garden revisited

 

Here we go, here we go, here we go, we now know that the winner of tonight’s game will face Viva Espana in the final on Sunday. It was a fantastic first half, with a goal which will be remembered for years to come by the Spanish Wunderkind, Yamal.

Will this game be a bridge to far for EnGerLand as alluded to in the title of the blog?

Tonight’s game is fascinating for many reasons and here is one you wouldn’t have thought of. Who will the people of Northern Ireland be supporting tonight?

The Protestant side of Ulster are known as the Orangeman as a homage to William of Orange, the Dutch Stadtholder, who then became King William III of EnGerLand.

William defeated the Catholic forces, of the deposed James II of England, at two battles in 1690 and 1691 both in July. The more famous one is the battle of the Boyne and both battles (Aughrim is the other) are commemorated to this day by the Protestants with parades and marching bands which take place on July 12th.

Obviously to the Catholics, he is vilified as a figure of extreme hatred, so what do they do? I suppose that the Taigs will support the Orange and the Proddies the English, in a classic football situation of who do you hate more.

There is no logic to EnGerLand having reached the semifinal, no one can pretend that EnGerLand have played well, in fact they have been awful. Defensively they have been sound, the goal they conceded against the Vikings was one of those things and against the Swiss, the defender slipped allowing the ball to get through.

The problem has been in attack. where they have relied on individual brilliance to twice get themselves out of a hole. This is not a sustainable way of winning football matches, especially for a side that has some of the most exciting and talented players in the game currently.

One thing that has to be praised was the penalty shootout, they were five of the best penalties you will, so if this game does go the distance, EnGerLand will be confident.

 

 

Pickford, hoping for a quiet night

 

Apart from their game against the froggies, the Orangemen have scored in every game, but they also conceded in those games. They will need to be on high alert to plug any leaks in the dyke before they turn into a flood which washes them away.

In attack, the Liverpool winger, Cody Gapko, is in joint first place in the race for the golden boot which is an award for the top scorer in the competition. EnGerLand will need to keep him on a tight leash and if they can keep him quiet, it will go a long way to helping their cause.

Gakpo, can EnGerLand muzzle him?

They have met twice before in the Euros, back in 1988 when the Dutch won 3-1 with a hat trick from Marco Van Basten.

England had hit the post twice before the Dutch scored that day.

Then in 1996, EnGerLand got revenge with a 4-1 victory at Wembley with Shearer scoring this goal.

 

In a radio interview that I gave, I have already put it on record that I think EnGerLand will take this game.

We can all hope that it will be a good watch for the viewers at home, although those that favour EnGerLand will settle for a scrappy goal off somebody’s backside to win the game and b*******s to entertainment.