On Wednesday, I sat down with my 10-year-old son and watched England fail to gain the draw they needed against Croatia to qualify for the 2008 Euro football tournament. Spookily, in both games, England was undone largely by a goalkeeping error. “Plus ça change,” I’d say if I was French, which I have to confess I’m thinking of becoming because I have a house there and les bleus are a far better football team.
It seems 10-year-old boys are more knowledgeable these days. My son made the perceptive comment that England was total rubbish and at least next summer won’t be ruined by seeing us get all hyped up and then fail dismally in the finals. It almost makes me feel sorry for the teams that qualified.