HERE we go again, another Men’s European Championship Final involving England and another potential nightmare scenario for Scotland fans.
Need we be reminded, it’s been 58 years since the only time England won a major international tournament. They’ve come pretty close to ending that hoodoo having reached the World Cup Semi Finals in 2018 and losing the delayed Euro 2020 Final to Italy three years ago.
By hook or by crook, they’ve reached the final again, this time to face Spain in Berlin. With this run comes the inevitable and tedious question us Scots have to endure from the UK wide media – will you be supporting England in the Final?
The caveat to that is what does is matter to England whether or not fans of Scotland, or any other nation for that matter, want them to win a football match? They have a fan base who follow their team in huge numbers across the world and a population of over 60 million people. Having another five million from us is not going to make a huge difference to them.
Yet sections of the media are obsessed with this topic every major tournament. I got a small snippet of this in the first of two Sky News interviews I done during my time in Germany when I was asked “did you watch the England v Serbia game and who were you supporting”, to which I simply replied “no comment” and that I would rather see Scotland winning than England losing. Of course, it’s understandable why they do it as it makes good coverage from their perspective, but it does get on our nerves at times it must be said. You don’t get scenarios across Europe where fans of, for example, Portugal if they are supporting their neighbours Spain this evening, or Swedish fans if they were cheering on Denmark in Germany.
Unsurprisingly, I won’t be cheering on the Three Lions tonight, but this is simply down to sporting rivalry, nothing more. It is no different to Celtic fans not wanting Rangers to succeed in Europe and vice versa. I have English relatives, including my father, English friends and have had many great holidays south of the border, so this is not an anti-English persona that others might believe. Quite simply it’s down to sporting rivalry, and I don’t want my rivals to succeed, even if they don’t view us in the same light (England would put Germany and arguably Argentina ahead of us in the rival stakes). I understand that there are some Scotland fans who want England to win tonight, and that’s fine. It comes down to personal choice and nobody should be criticised for the viewpoint of hoping for a neighbours win or a rivals defeat.
That said, there are some up here who go over the top with their opinions on the England Men’s National Team. This was highlighted in The National newspaper’s front page on Saturday, which was just as patronising and embarrassing as The Mirror’s “Achtung Surrender” headlines ahead of the Euro ’96 Semi Final between England and Germany. Quite frankly, it was stereotypical nonsense and made sections of our media no better than theirs in that moment. Also, at a gig I was at in Cologne, one of the support acts playing a “f*** England” tune was cringeworthy and a few of my friends around me all agreed this needs to get in the bin. It might be seen as “banter” but it also doesn’t paint sections of our support in a good light. By all means have a rivalry but don’t stoop to the levels of England fans who sing about Scotland being battered everywhere they go.
Whilst I want Spain to win tonight, and over the course of the competition I feel they’d be deserving of it, I’m also prepared for the scenario of an England victory. In 2018, I predicted they’d win something within ten years and they now have another chance. They have good players, especially in the final third, and they’ve built up some valuable tournament experience they can bring into the Final tonight. If it happens, we have an idea of what the media coverage is going to be like, so it’s important that we react in a dignified way and not full of hatred. It might be an idea to stay away from Social Media and find alternative TV channels to watch for the next month put it that way!
The scene is set for the climax of what has been an underwhelming Euro 2024 finals. I don’t say this as a bitter Scotland fan, we were the worst team of the tournament and the stats don’t lie. An average of 2.28 goals per game out of the 50 played so far supports the theory that an over cautious approach by teams is overtaking bravery to win, as emphasised by France scoring just four times in six matches that included two own goals and a penalty. The Semi Finals at least brought some enthusiasm and entertainment that was sadly lacking in the last round of group stage matches, the last sixteen games and at least two of the Quarter Finals. Whatever the outcome, let’s hope that we get a Final that is full of entertainment and two teams going all out to try to lift the European Championship trophy. Will it be Spain again or England at last?
Whoever you’re supporting, try to be respectful to others if their view is different to yours. It’s not difficult, but something that’s proving too hard for some in the toxic world of social media.
