We chased our trophies here, dug
our trophies there, but can you still recall, the time we cried, break on
through to the other side, break on through to the other side.
That is the aim for EnGerLand
tonight, they have reached consecutive Euro finals against all the odds. and
now have one more hurdle to clear to end the pain.
The hurdle they need to clear is
a big one, the Matadors of La Roja, who have to date played six and won six in
this tournament, with a brand of exciting, fast paced attacking football.
To preview this game properly,
we have to go a bit statistical, EnGerLand have had 66 total attempts at scoring
a goal, compared to Espana’s 108, which is probably why the Flamenco dancers have
netted 13 times, compared to EnGerLand who have a meagre 7 goals.
The other interesting comparison
is possession, they basically have almost identical numbers in all categories except
for one.
EnGerLand are much higher in the
area of sideways passes which as we remember EnGerLand have excelled at, as
they pretended to be crabs on the beach sidling from left to right and back
again.
The fact that in all other possession
statistics, it is hard to tell them apart, despite the obvious difference in
styles, may lead some to believe that too much emphasis is placed on statistics,
and it is less important than other people feel.
There is no doubt that, as Lord Nelson
famously said on the eve of the battle of Trafalgar, "EnGerLand expects that
every man will do his duty” Until the dramatic semifinal victory over the
plucky Orangemen, one did not hear too much of that awful expression, “it is
coming home”, but since Wednesday night, the genie has been let out of the
bottle.
Quiet a few of my loyal readers
have been asking if I am going to use the Spanish Armada for historical
context, it has been almost as bad as the Spanish Inquisition which of course
nobody expects.
Although the word Armada has become synonymous as the term for a large fleet of ships, it actually comes from the Latin “Armata” which just means armed.
The defeat of the Spanish Armada
of 1588 was not achieved in one battle like the defeat of the froggies at
Trafalgar, it took a series of naval skirmishes to see off the pesky Spanish. The Spanish actually tried another three times sending more Armadas over the next few years. and they failed each time. What
is interesting is that the Spanish navy was technically much stronger than the tars
of the Royal Navy which had only been set up by Henry VIII in 1546 and was
still a relatively small force.
Legend has it that Sir Francis
Drake had to finish his games of bowls before setting sail to engage the enemy.
Then, as today, the odds were in favour of the Matadors, but the English Yeoman were as stout hearted as the oaks of their ships, and the same strength and application will be needed today to fight off the wave after wave of Spanish attacks than we can expect to see in the game.
Will history repeat itself this
evening? I am on record as saying that the Spanish will win, I hope to be
wrong, EnGerLand need to keep it tight for as long as they can and then look to
pinch one on the break as the castanets become weary from all their exertions.
EnGerLand and Espana, have not
played each other very often in tournament football, the last two times ended
in 0-0 draws which is not encouraging, although EnGerLand did win the penalty
shootout in 1996 in the Euro Quarterfinal of that year.
Another interesting thing to
watch out for will be the race for the golden boot, the award given to the top
scorer. There is currently a tie between Dani Olmo and Harry Kane with three goals, so they are my two to look out for.
 |
| Olmo, can he do it again for Spain? |
 |
| Kane, Will he finally win a trophy? |
I hope you have enjoyed the tournament and the blog, and I look forward to seeing you in 2026 for the next world cup.
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