In both sporting and political terms, it is tempting to wonder what comes next.īoris Johnson might eventually be caught in the political equivalent of the offside trap by the England manager and his teamĪs someone used to seeing the England football team and its manager trashed on a biannual basis in the tabloids, it is a surprise to see them being praised to the skies and regarded as both inspirational and decent. That we are almost painfully close to success is both a cause of celebration in and of itself, but also a question mark. Match after match has proceeded with the aplomb of a high-velocity Hollywood thriller, complete with suitably heroic performances by the leading men. My anticipation of the evening is all the more surprising, given that I know virtually nothing about football and its practitioners, but, like many of my similarly ignorant peers, we have been caught up in the drama and excitement of the Euro 2020 event. In the first instance, I - along with virtually everyone in England - hope for a resounding victory on Sunday evening. After all, did Geoff Hurst, Bobby Charlton and Alf Ramsey not all (eventually) receive accolades after 1966? It is confidently expected that, should England win the match, that the team’s hugely popular manager Gareth Southgate would certainly be awarded a knighthood, and the likes of Rashford, Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling could expect similar distinctions. He would not be human if he did not feel a mixture of excitement and trepidation, knowing that the hopes of the entire country are riding on what twenty-two players manage to accomplish on a football pitch in an hour and a half. Nine months later, Rashford, along with his England teammates, is preparing to play the biggest match of his life against Italy at Wembley. The cynical might even have called it a bribe. The recognition, which Rashford described as a “nice moment”, seemed an attempt on the government’s part not only to dispel the lingering controversy that the contretemps had created, but to bring a charismatic and popular young man back into the fold. #GARETH SOUTHGATE KNIGHTHOOD FREE#Not many 22 year olds are granted such an accolade, even those who have played football both for Manchester United and for England, but the honour was granted in recognition of Rashford’s sterling services campaigning against the government on behalf of the 1.3 million schoolchildren who were subsequently granted free school meal vouchers. In October last year, Marcus Rashford was awarded an MBE.
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