“It’s coming home!” — How well do fans think England can do at Euro 2020?
In 2018, we witnessed one of the best football tournaments of all time. The World Cup, held in Russia, proved to be a magnificent spectacle of the beautiful game, with many twists and turns throughout the competition. England were one of the standout performers as they managed to reach the semi-finals, only to be knocked out by Croatia. Throughout the whole of that summer, the words “It’s coming home” could be heard in every town and city, with many fans believing that 2018 was really the year England would win their second World Cup.
Fast forward a year and half and England are preparing for their next big tournament, Euro 2020. Matches will be played in 12 different cities throughout the whole of Europe, with the semi-finals and final being held at Wembley Stadium in London. What a huge opportunity this is for England, they have the chance to win a major tournament on home turf. The groups for the competition were announced recently, with England needing to face Croatia, the Czech Republic and a playoff winner, which could potentially be Scotland. England dominated their qualification group with seven wins and 37 goals scored in total, making them one of the favourites to win Euro 2020.
So, with next year’s tournament fast approaching, I wanted to see what fans are thinking about England’s chances next summer.
The first question I wanted people’s opinions on was how they gauge England’s group. I first spoke to Matt Debono, who is the chief editor of the Absolute Chelsea account on Twitter (@AbsoluteChelsea). He said, “I think we have been fortunate, we have been lucky to avoid France, Portugal and Wales. They were the main three that I was concerned about”. My next interviewee was Oliver Bassett, who said, “I’m confident. I think we have a great group of youngsters that will do well”. I also spoke to Mark Aldous, who is a Leyton Orient supporter, “I think it’s a good group. It’s definitely a group I’d expect to get out of and hopefully win”.
Many fans did not expect the success that England had during the summer of 2018, so how far can the Three Lions go during the Euros? Mark said, “My attitude with any cup competition is you don’t have to be the best team to win it. I think England are not the best team, but they could win it.” When asked the same question, Oliver said, “It’s a difficult one, I’d love to be hopeful that we can go all the way and I’m confident with the squad”. Finally, Matt had this to say, “I think looking back at the last tournament, we should do well but personally I think England got a fairly easy ride until we came across a decent side in Croatia”.
In the last few games that England have played, fans have been able to see the trust that manager Gareth Southgate is willing to show to his younger players, so I wanted to know which stars fans are most excited to watch at the tournament. Oliver said, “Sterling definitely, I think next year in 2020 will be one of the years where he will be competing to be one of the best players in the world”. When I asked Mark he said, “Sancho. I watch a bit of the German football and I think he’s an exciting player”. Matt went on to say, “Harry Kane, I think he is going to significantly improve since Mourinho’s appointment at Tottenham, I think he has become more potent in front of goal”.
With only six months left until the tournament kicks off, England fans will have to wait and see how the Three Lions prepare for next summer, but it will certainly be interesting to see who comes out on top and wins Euro 2020.
