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TIME FOR A BALL

As England kick off tomorrow, why even soccer newbies will have something to cheer about...

By Sarah Vine

My son is very excited about something called the Euros. on closer inspection this turns out to be a football tournament. Correction: another football tournament. ‘But you’ve only just finished the last one,’ I say to him, as he drop-kicks an imaginary ball into the sofa/goal, sending the cat scarpering half-way up the chimney. Massive teenage eye-roll. ‘That was club football, mother. This is countries.’

It is, he informs me, All Very Exciting. not least because scotland are playing England, a pairing that presents quite a conundrum, since his father supports scotland and he England.

As for me, I’m really on the horns of a dilemma, apparently: Wales play Italy in Group A (I was born in swansea but grew up in Rome). Dramatic pause. ‘ Mum?!’ ‘ sorry, what?’, I say, looking up from my phone, where a particularly enticing pair of tangerine clogs has just popped up on my Instagram feed. ‘Wales vs Italy: who are you going to support?’ ‘I don’t care,’ I say. He looks at me as though I had just drowned a kitten.

And I really don’t. Care, that is. The outcome of the Euros is about as interesting to me as a pothole just off junction 13 on the M4. But he does. As do 99.9 per cent of the other males I know.

Don’t get me wrong, I actually really enjoy watching the football. But I have my reservations. I especially hate the language on the terraces and the way fans square up to each other. The sport doesn’t always bring out the best in its fans.

But maybe this year things are different. After a miserable 18 months, Euro 2021 — or Euro 2020, as it’s known, given that last year’s tournament was postponed — will be the first major sporting event on home ground since Covid-19 struck.

It’s an opportunity for coming together, a chance to get into the summer spirit in support of our sportsmen, to cast off months of isolation. At the very least, it’s an excuse to have your friends round for a barbecue, crack open some drinks and enjoy the sun while the TV buzzes away in the corner.

My only worry is England are currently favourites to win, which, in my house at least, may require a certain amount of expectation management.

Whatever the final result, I’m predicting a lively few weeks. My son’s three best friends are, respectively, Mexican/spanish, Moroccan/Brazilian and serbian/Italian. I’m not quite sure how that translates into loyalties, but no doubt there will be some passionate exchanges.

Meanwhile, I have cleared the living room of all breakable objects, raided my local Tesco for stocks of Coke Zero and Doritos, and the freezer is stacked with frozen pizzas and other meat-based snacks. And yes I might — just might — join them for the occasional game. Especially the one where Italy smash England. Ha ha. only joking!

Euro 2020 The Big Kick-Off

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2021-06-12T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-12T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://mailonline.pressreader.com/article/281986085499108

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