Well, England’s latest outing was a fairly missable event. Unless you were perhaps Slovenian, or one of those radical football heads who really loves the purity of a game without goals. The metric that is the noisiest, per Michael Cox, and can mislead.
But it did not really mislead in England’s 0-0 draw. Slovenia needed a point to qualify for the knockout stages, so their defensive shutout was completely in keeping with their aims – but not England’s.
We did have four times as many shots on target and Bukayo Saka put an offside ball in the net. But a lot of it was drab stuff – happily improved in the second half by the introduction of Kobbie Mainoo, Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer.
I hope you chose to watch the game with mates who had chat outside of football, otherwise gloom may really have set in. To which I say: fight it.
Gareth Southgate acknowledged the vitriol directed his way when he said: ‘I’ve not seen any other team qualify and receive similar.’ One wonders, then, whether he’d have been reassured or dismayed to see Belgium given the bird by their own fans the next day.
Long-time followers of England might reflect it’s a notable achievement that Southgate has staved off aggression for so long. But while we might feel frustration at watching 90-or-so bleak minutes of clunky football played by some of the best individuals in the modern game, the public reaction has been counter-productive.
Southgate tried to remind us of this on Tuesday. If it is the case that England fans are united in wanting our side to go one better this Euros than last, we have a role to play. Fearful teams seldom prosper. And some of the reaction has been scary. But then, as so many pointed out to me when I was making the case that Tottenham had to win against Man City no matter the consequences for Arsenal’s title bid, you can’t help what you feel. Emotions are unruly.
Except research now shows you can. While scientists estimate only about five per cent of our behaviour is truly deliberate, much of it is habitual, whether good for us, or not.
One particular activity that increases negative emotions is called ‘co-rumination’. This has been studied particularly in the workplace, with the conclusion that those who spend more time with others on ‘negative problem talk about an issue’ experience greater levels of stress and burnout. A problem shared often isn’t a problem halved.
And while England’s performances so far haven’t lived up to the name, there are plenty of examples of teams coming through their group without distinction and going on to win tournaments.
Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia in their opener before winning the 2022 World Cup, Greece came second in their group in 2004 before that extraordinary triumph. Portugal finished third in theirs en route to winning Euro 2016.
Even in Germany there is evidence many of the so-called ‘big sides’ are getting off to slow starts. Look at holders Italy, and regardez France.
As ever, there is a strong chance England supporters will be left disappointed when the tournament ends. But part of the power of this angst has been built from precisely how well the side have done in recent years, not because they’ve routinely let us down.
The realisation that we are helpless to affect games we so deeply care about hurts. But online diatribes can have more impact on the players than we think. And if you can’t believe that, or find it hard to care, try caring about yourself instead.
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