It’s been an epic 55 years since England last reached a major tournament final.But even as the Three Lions teetered on the brink of ending that dismal record at an ear-splitting Wembley last night – passing the ball around depleted Denmark players sporting faces as red as their shirts – everyone seemed to be talking about another number: 16.
The commentators, pundits, family, friends, social media. Everyone was bringing up ’16’.
“These past 16 months” they kept saying. “We needed this after these past 16 months”.
True, the wait to see England book a spot in a final has been wearisome, stressful and even a little embarrassing. But it’s been absolutely nothing compared to what the nation has had to go through since March 2020.
The whole country – even those who can take or leave football at the best of times – needed a reason to cheer and scream and shout with joy.
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On Wednesday evening, Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions gave us exactly that – coming from behind to beat Denmark 2-1 after extra-time with a winner from Harry Kane.
After a nightmarish 16 months, it was the stuff of dreams. England are in the Euro 2020 final.
Watched in village pub. We haven’t all been together for 16 months and we’ve all doggedly sat through the Euros together in the marquee. Tears and beers spilt at the end. Football unites like nothing else. #Euros2021
16 months of hell and I’m watching England go through to the final of the Euros and the squad singing Sweet Caroline to their own fans at Wembley. My heart can’t take it
If you’ve ever stayed in New York City, you’ll know all too well that the first night is a restless one.
They call it the ‘city that never sleeps’ and this becomes clear from the moment you put your head against the pillow – with car horns blaring, honking and squawking way beyond sunset.
Manchester has often doubled for NYC in movie shoots over the past few years – but last night it began to mirror New York sonically, as motorists hammered their steering wheels over and over again to mark England’s win, swerving around the pedestrians clogging up the roadways.
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Even with extra-time pushing the game beyond ‘bedtime’, it didn’t feel like many people in Manc were ready to go to sleep. And it was like that right across the country. Indeed, for many, Sunday is too long to wait until the next game.
There’s real belief – as the thousands of late-night renditions of Skinner & Baddiel’s classic testified – that football is definitely coming home.
Even the MPs are getting involved – with some talking about pushing for an impromptu Bank Holiday on Monday if England lift the cup.
Now, there’s the little matter of Italy in the final.
This isn’t just a footballing nation that historically knows how to win things. It’s a team who have beaten Turkey, Switzerland, Austria, Wales, Belgium and Spain already in this tournament. They’re frighteningly good opposition.
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But no need to worry about that just now, anyway.
For the time being, simply sit back and soak it in. Revel in the fact that England are going to the Euro 2020 final. Ignore the fact that it’s actually 2021. Ignore that you worried Southgate wasn’t up to the job only two weeks ago. Ignore that you were questioning Sterling being in the starting lineups. Ignore that you have to work today.
Just bathe in the bliss for a moment.
As they all keep saying, it’s been a tough 16 months.
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‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.
Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.
A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.
In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.
🗣️ "Nothing is eternal" – Pep Guardiola.
🔵 Subscribe to our Manchester City page on BBC Sounds for the latest interviews. #MCFC#bbcfootball
Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.
As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”
Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.
“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.
On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.
He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.
Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.
Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.
In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.
You can watch the highlights from the game down below:
Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.
Sale Sharks sign highly-rated Harlequins hooker, Nathan Jibulu
Danny Jones
Sale Sharks are investing in youth with their latest bit of transfer business after signing one of the Harlequins’ hottest prospects, Nathan Jibulu.
The highly-rated hooker, who has already nine appearances this season, including more than half a dozen in the Gallagher Premiership, has been exciting plenty of scouts throughout rugby union and is already firmly in national team plans.
Having already been part of the England Under-20 and A squads, not to mention impressing at club level in a relatively short space of time, it’s a big coup for Sale.
From the Quins academy to the right side of Shark-infested waters.
Jibulu joined the Twickenham-based outfit back in 2022 just a year after they won their second English championship (a full decade since their first) after previously attending Seaford College and representing nearby Wimbledon Warriors.
However, now the six-foot and seriously strong forward will be swapping the life near the capital for the North and Greater Manchester, specifically.
Set to join Sale Sharks for the 2025/26 season – scheduled to kick off in September – he’s looking like a really strong addition to their front row and a future squads to come.
Speaking to the club in an official statement, he said: “When I was younger, whenever someone asked me, ‘what team would you want to play for?’ I’d always say Sale…
“I’ve scrummed a lot with Asher [Opoku-Fordjour] and I got to know him pretty well. I always tell him how special and different he is, and I can’t wait to play with him.
“The way the club has developed him and nurtured him to become an established Premiership and England player speaks volumes about the coaching and the support that he’s getting at Sale.
“The entire front row is in the England squad, with the Curry boys too, so that tells you that someone at the club is doing something right. I looked at that and I said, ‘why would you not want to be there?’”
Still just 22 years old and having made just as many appearances for his soon-to-be former club, Sale weren’t the only ones chasing his signature.
Jibulu went on to add: “I love those games where you go toe-to-toe physically, so all of that attracted me straight away, and then speaking to people who are there already, they said all the stuff that I really like so it was a no brainer when the opportunity came about.”
As for his impending coach, Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said: “Nathan is really driven, he understands what he wants from his life and his career, and he knows how he’s going to get it.
“He’s a young lad but he’s incredibly mature and he’s got the game and the physical attributes to match. I’ve got no doubt he’ll play for England in the future and we’re really excited to bring him to the club.”
Currently sat seventh in the table after another at times promising but somewhat frustrating start to the year, the summer can’t come soon enough for Sale.
The Manc -
8th July 2021 
