It’s only a game, they say. But what a game it is. Though last night’s drama ended in tears for England, football spread joy across our continent this summer, all the more so as Euro 2020 was being played on delay in the wrong year. There were goals galore, spills and upsets and a new England at the heart of it, both on and off the pitch. Italy will take the European Championship trophy to Rome today but football did come home again in England by helping to show that it is a home we all share.
To still sing “it’s coming home” in 2021 could have sounded like nostalgia for nostalgia. Euro 2020 recaptured the spirit of Euro ’96, encapsulated by an anthem that dreamed of reliving the glory of 1966. Yet it is a song of anticipation, of rekindled hope for the future. It reaffirms a commitment to each other: that whether we win or lose, we will gather again to experience the next tournament together and write another chapter in our national story. This ritual has become England’s primary form of national communion – and it felt more open to everyone who calls England home than ever before.
Content from our partners
