The World Cup. Does anything need to be said?
Yes. England did amazingly well. Top 4. Ahead in the semi-final. And now there appears to be a national crisis about our failure to win.
Why mention that? Because this is English exceptionalism writ large. That is the absurd belief, based on the legacy of empire and colonialism, that England is best in the world, with a right to win. How dare anyone deny us the right to do so?
Because that belief is unfounded, of course. But so much of the English narrative, and too much of our neoliberal politics, is based on this assumption, as is the arrogance of the English attitude to Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
That is why the World Cup matters, in political-economic terms. We should learn from it. We might overcome the fear that so obviously burdens the national football team if we did.
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I’ve had to explain this to English colleagues many times over the years. The scenario I use is this: Imagine the Germans win the World Cup. Now imagine that every broadcaster and newspaper in Britain bangs on about the glorious German victory to the point where it sets your teeth on edge. Congratulations; now you understand what it’s like for those of us who live in the not-England parts of the UK.
🙂
It’s not so much the banging on immediately after the win as the banging on for the next sixty years.
That’s why some English politicians got angry when various SNP MPs and MSPs said they would be supporting Argentina in the semi-final, that it was unpatriotic and that if Scotland was playing in a World Cup semi-final (I wish..) then English fans would be right behind them. What they fail to understand is this harping on about 1966 ad nauseam, which was repeated after Wednesday evening’s fiasco, ’60 years of waiting, when will the hurting end’ It’s this arrogant sense of entitlement and belief that England somehow ‘deserves’ to win the World Cup again that encourages Scots to say ABE.
Exactly. For me, it’s not the team or the decent England supporters that are the problem. It’s the media whipping up the notion that Harry Kane and his predecessors would stroll through the campaign with one hand already on the trophy. It’s ridiculous.
Yes it is a strange thing thinking that England is best at everything and the shock when people discover it is not. Being Cornish I find it rather annoying anyway ! A few England flags in Cornwall, I assume from people who did not realise they were actually not in England – lost probably!
If the cost of going to and watching games at this world cup are anything to go by, it should be renamed the Neoliberal World Cup.
A final ticket for the 1966 world cup could be had for as low as five shillings in old money. This world cup? Reports suggest that “dynamic” pricing puts a final ticket at $11 thousand dollars today.
Whatever happened to the people’s game? Just another excuse to make money.
Agreed
I don’t think the present England team is overburdened by expecting ‘we should be the best’. Supporters and commentators maybe. That attitude may also have something to do with ‘we gave football to the world'<p>
The team seemed to run out of gas after they took the lead, probably because of after effects of altitude in Mexico and humidity in Miami. Just couldn’t keep possession and got forced back and back – then brought on last ditch defenders to try to hold on – which they did until 5 mins from full time<p>
Argentina had stumbled in previous games but in the last half hour had 88% possession and pressed and pressed and pressed … with their little master pulling the strings, superbly yet calmly organised – so that goals seemed inevitable
I could not believe how Neo-liberal Tuchel’s tactics were?
In the first half or thereabouts, we built up a lead as well as being really threatening on the break and causing the Argentinians to hold back defensive players. Attack was essentially defence.
Then having actually created something useful, he brought off key attacking players and settled on building a redoubt in his own half inviting the whole Argentinian team to come onto us with hardly anything proactive in response.
It reminds me about how we built up social security and industry in this country to attack want and need and then pulled back and decided to leave it all to atrophy under another bad manager called Margaret Hilda Thatcher. And she too – having decided the tactics – blamed the players (the British people) just like Tuchel was doing afterwards with ‘his’ team.
Tuchel should be sacked to be honest, like Thatcher would have been sacked if not for the Falklands. As for the result, to me it means nothing. If you watched ITV, you’ll know from the adverts that many English players have made a lot of money out of erm…….representing their sponsors. Was that why Kane was kept on – because of the stuff he was advertising I wonder? Vested interests perhaps? What have the players actually lost when compared to their fans who are losing their liberty, public services, their money and their futures and whom just wanted their team to win a world cup?
Under Neo-liberalism, this country has become a bullshit operation. Travelling up to Liverpool to see my daughter graduate, I saw the state of the infrastructure mostly privately owned or operated at huge cost. What an appalling place to live this is for decent people.
Well, Andy?
There is also the other view that the Men’s England football team do what they do best….raise hopes but actually never deliver the final goods.
Whereas the Lionesses did bring it home!
Welcome to the club, we had exactly the same discussion here in Germany 2 weeks ago.
The slogans were like:
“Lost against Paraguay, an at best 3-grade country? Now we have nothing left.”
It’s horrible and shameful how seemingly some over-payed millionaires kicking a ball from one side to the other of a field are the only thing left that gives people hope.
A very tiny hope when it’s getting fulfilled resulting in almost nothing for the people that are anyway not represented by these millionaires the rest of the day.
But that’s after all how neoliberalism has shaped countries, it wants and needs this desperation and the drug “Nationalism” can very well be used for that purpose.
“See, that proves you’ll need much more of me, otherwise this will only get worse!”
Jean-Paul Sartre, the well known football commentator, said “In football, everything is complicated by the presence of the opposition”. Can’t we accept that once Argentina fell behind they upped their game, made astute substitutions and played well? It’s not “all about England”.
Much to agree with
Well, there is nothing like having something to moan about!!
One thing though about national games and tournaments, and trying to keep politics out of it, is that it can bring some unity and a sense of commonality among what should be friendly banter/chanting and flag waving; especially in this time where national flags are being used to sow division, hatred, and stoke up violence.
It is a shame that that the semi-final between England v Argentina has now been embroiled with the politics and sentiments over the Falkland Islands, and on deeper reading the sovereignty of those islands and the waters around them could also be linked not to the self-determination of the people living on the islands themselves, but the desires of the current Argentinian President to drill for oil and his friendship with the current occupant in the The White House who has shown his interference with the current president of FIFA.
So much for the friendly game. :-/
Exceptionalism, a stain on the (English) national character
As an Englishman who’s lived the last 17 years in Wales and is now in their first year in Scotland, it’s so easy to see it everywhere, especially in our politics and media where so often Britain/UK = England. Oh, and of course in sports coverage.
It came into particularly sharp focus during the pandemic when the idea of devolved autonomy and different regulations across the border seemed so unfathomable to so many (personally I was immensely glad to have the thoughtful and empathetic Mark Drakeford at the helm, rather than clown Johnson and co).
Of course I grew up surrounded by English exceptionalism, in fact a very specific regional sub-genre of it, being a Yorkshireman – “God’s Own Country”, “Yorkshire would’ve been 8th in the Olympic medals table” etc. etc.
How about “easily the worst county for illegal raptor persecution in the entire UK, endemic in our ‘glorious’ Yorkshire national parks” – proud of that are we?
Then again, back in the 80s as a northern state grammar school boy at an Oxford college I also realised that there are degrees of English exceptionalism and maybe Yorkshire’s version is at the milder, least harmful end of the scale.
Living most of my adult life west of the Pennines, plus a reasonable amount of foreign travel, it’s not difficult to see that there is a mix of good and bad about pretty much everywhere – if you’ll open your eyes to it. Pride in origin is fine. Pride in adopted place is fine too. But an unquestioning, uncritical, entitled sense of superiority – that’s simply blinkered, toxic and damaging.
Much to agree with
The dead giveaway about exceptionalism is the way that English commentators talk about bringing the World Cup “home”.
Good point
On the bright side, the American celeb spotting TV camera scanning the audience on Sunday evening will not have to waste time seeking out Starmer or even Workshy Willie Mountbatten-Windsor.
One of the main lessons that should be learned through sport is that of losing. Another thing that should be borne in mind is the fact that it was West Ham that actually won the WC in 1966 and as I became a West Ham supporter  following the final I have over many years learned a lot about losing.
Having watched England at many tournaments over the years (the 1980 European Championships being the first although I do remember the failed 1978 World Cup qualification campaign – I am showing my age (haha!!!!), there were many similarities to other tournaments. Some real positives and some negatives – sometimes the latter more than the former. My personal highlight – me pacing up and down the living room during that 11 minutes of injury time against Mexico and then celebrating with something medicinal at 4.30am in the morning.
A semi final? Played to our FIFA ranking so that meets realistic expectations.
Unfortunately, the media build it up heading into and then throughout the tournament – ‘it’s coming home’, ’60 years of hurt ending’ and so on and so on – and then when the tournament is over for England start hunting for scapegoats. And it usually starts with the manager (who matched Southgate’s first tournament as England manager).
Yes, it was disappointing to lose but we have no divine right to win. Would be brilliant for the senior men’s team to win a major international tournament (would put them level with the women’s team at 2 each) but we’ll have to earn it.
Craig
I remember 66 – well the final, alone, to be honest. But 70 very clearly
As do I. That is the only football match I have ever watched from beginning to end. Or should I call it ‘soccer’ as I am now Australian?
During several of the years when Scotland did not qualify some pubs showing matches held sweepstakes on how long it would take the English commentator to mention 1966. Clive Tildesley was the champion at under 90 seconds and England were not even playing!
The England flags in my town, allegedly put up for the World Cup and only as a coincidence close to the Indian, Polish and Chinese businesses, haven’t been taken down yet.
Thinking of driving very, very slowly past all these flags during rush hour in reverence to them until they are taken down. I am sure the people who put them there agree it is the patriotic thing to do.
🙂
I wonder whether any of those who have raised the flags ‘tactically’ on lampposts have ever been told “to go home”, or been asked the “where are you from” question?