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The agonising climax to Saturday’s men’s Champions League final in Budapest will haunt the imaginations of Arsenal supporters for years to come. Penalty shootouts – a sporting version of Russian roulette – are a brutal way to lose a football match, with hope turning to despair in the time that it takes to fire a ball over a crossbar. The England men’s team, of course, used to know this only too well, famously leading Gareth Southgate to use a psychologist to address players’ nerves.
A triumphant Sunday parade allowed the Premier League champions to reflect on what they did achieve, rather than what they didn’t. There was further consolation in the presence of the Arsenal women’s team bus, as the massed hordes acclaimed their achievement in winning the inaugural Fifa Women’s Champions Cup and reaching the Uefa Champions League semi-final. They remain the only English women’s team to have won the latter.
But in a gripping season of British football, the euphoria and the angst have hardly been confined to north London. Scotland’s most dramatic championship race for 40 years saw Hearts come within minutes of winning a first title since 1960 and humbling the old firm duopoly of Rangers and Celtic.
In England, the Premier League’s upwardly mobile middle classes confirmed the strength in depth of the richest men’s league in the world. Aston Villa won their first European trophy since the 1980s, and Crystal Palace the first in their history. No one who attended will forget the spectacle of south London en fête in Leipzig, where a joyous climax to the Uefa Conference League was staged between Palace and the Spanish side, Rayo Vallecano. For both teams, appearing in a European final was a glorious first.
Follow that then, England and Scotland. For many supporters, the buildup to this summer’s World Cup has been overshadowed by controversy over the eye-watering price of tickets, particularly in the United States. But for those who can afford to be there, the wait is almost over. Thomas Tuchel’s England squad flew out on Monday to a pre-tournament camp in Miami. Scotland flew to Florida on Sunday.
The last time both England and Scotland competed in a World Cup was in 1998. England went out on penalties – see above – to Argentina in the first knockout round, and a young David Beckham became a public scapegoat after being sent off. Scotland failed to progress from the group stage, a hurdle they have failed to clear in each of their eight previous finals appearances.
Both nations can hope for and expect better this time round. An expanded tournament of 48 teams gives Scotland’s John McGinn, Scott McTominay and co a far better chance than past squads of prolonging their country’s stay. A single win in the group stages could even be enough to deliver a first-ever World Cup knockout tie. That would be a summer showpiece to savour in Glasgow and Edinburgh. England have been seeded fourth after a stellar qualifying campaign, albeit against weak opposition, potentially meaning a more navigable route to the semi-finals.
The “30 years of hurt” for England, which were commemorated in song back in 1996, have now doubled to 60. After a club season in which teams other than the usual suspects have enjoyed their day in the sun, English and Scottish fans can dare to dream.
