Thread by @syrpis

A thread on #euro2020... and on the prospects of 'it coming home' (this is mainly for my 2 overexcited kids).

In the heady aftermath of the win v Germany, and looking at the seemingly inviting 'path to the final', it is easy to get carried away. 1/9

Add to that the seemingly impregnable defence, the home advantage in the semi and the final, and the leadership of Gareth Southgate (see theplayerstribune.com/posts/dear-eng…) and you 'dare to dream'. 2/

But... we have only made it into the last 8. So, there are 7 other nations who will be thinking that this might be their year. They all have hope. For now. There will only be one winner. 3/

Of the other 7, (arguably) only Switzerland has a worse record in the Euros than England. They can best be described as over-excited to have made it into the quarter-finals for the first time. 4/

Spain have won the tournament 3 times, Italy once (and been losing finalists twice), and Denmark once. Belgium have been losing finalists once. Czechoslovakia have won once, with the Czech Republic themselves runners-up at Euro96. 5/

The Ukraine were part of the Soviet Union when they won, and when they were twice runners-up (I did say arguably...).

By contrast, England have a sole semi-final defeat to their name. As Southgate is not alone in remembering when that was. 6/

And while the path to the final is inviting, it is perhaps worth remembering who England lost to in the last euros. 7/ bbc.co.uk/sport/football…

I'm not going to try to analyse the football itself, but a nagging feeling after yesterday has been that the line between 'tactical masterclass' and 'damp squib' can be a very thin one. If Thomas Muller had done 'what he does', things might look very different today. 8/

That said, I tend to think that England has as good a chance as anyone else. I'm just trying to stop myself from getting too confident, imagining them sweeping Italy aside in the final next weekend... 9/9