By Graham Thomas
Welsh Football Fans. We need to talk about England.
You may have tried not to notice, but they have reached the final of a major football tournament, the first time they have got there on foreign soil. German soil. Deutscherboden.
Now comes the question, perpetually asked of Welsh supporters whenever images of the flag of St. George – tattooed onto beer bellies jiggling on outdoor bar tables – fills our TV screens. How do you feel about that?
Traditionally, Welsh fans put in this position have tended to divide into three groups: a large one of those hoping England lose; a smaller group, who are indifferent; and a smaller contingent still, of people who actually don’t mind if they win.
They don’t make it easy to belong to the last group. It takes a lot of willpower.
It’s easy to enjoy the Spanish fans, with their laidback Latin vibes. Or the Turkish fans whose manic intensity and joyful exuberance feels infectious. Or even the Tartan Army, whose dedication and humour neatly chimes with their long-suffering forebearance of being a Scotland supporter.
But, England. Do they even have a positive collective identity? The White Wall? Whoever says that?
English media coverage tends to make them less lovable, still. The jingoism, the cosy assumptions that it’s “coming home”, the disregard for the quality of any opposition.
Yet, there is a way to admire England, even if you can’t love them. Even if you can’t actively want them to win, there’s a way not to feel too unhappy if they do triumph on Sunday.
It’s in the stoic approach of Gareth Southgate – a human punchbag, more than a manager, a meme for contempt and ridicule for most of this tournament.
He’s still there, still at it, despite the abuse and the bile and the red-faced anger, often from people who don’t even watch football from one international tournament to another.
Southgate could have adopted a stance of resentful superiority after the semi-final win over the Netherlands. “I told you so… you doubted me, you know-nothing fools.”
But he remains admirably calm and generous even, to those who still castigate him as a lucky idiot.
Or, if there’s something about Southgate – and his white zipped shirt – you cannot stand behind, then think of Bukayo Saka.
Three years ago, after the final of the delayed Euro 2020 Euros, he looked at his phone on the night of his penalty miss against Italy, to be told it wasn’t his nerve or his technique that had cost him. It was his colour.
If Saka thought that grim fate awaited him again if he missed his penalty against Switzerland, then he didn’t show it. He stepped up and he scored.
Saka is difficult not to admire, hard not to like. You may still want Lamine Yamal and his Spanish teammates to have the final word on Sunday night, but you couldn’t really feel bitterness to Saka if the moment belongs to him, instead.
The bookmakers are bending towards, Yamal and Spain, however, rather than Saka and England.
Maybe that is the way to enjoy the final as a Wales supporter. Be happy for Spain and their 16-year-old superkid, Yamal if they win.
But if your money is on underdogs England, then you’ll pick up more than just sneaking admiration for Southgate and Saka.
