I had the wall chart, ready to fill in with every result, every goalscorer, every detail. It was the first World Cup England had qualified for in my lifetime and I was obsessed.
The first England match I really remember watching was in the 1982 World Cup, when I was 11. You remember where you were watching England games. You are representing more than 50 million people. When England play, it’s not a few thousand - or even a few million - watching on subscription. We saw that during Russia 2018, with the street parties, the barbecues and with every drop of beer thrown into the air in celebration. You are a part of an experience that lasts in the collective consciousness of our country. I tell them that when you go out there, in this shirt, you have the opportunity to produce moments that people will remember forever. There’s something I tell our players before every England game, and the reason that I repeat it is because I really believe it with all my heart. I can’t possibly hope to speak for an entire country, but I would like to share a few things with you, as we begin this journey. And what I want to speak about today is much bigger than football.Īs we go into this summer, I know that there will be a lot of emotion tied up in the Euros, and in this England team. When you think of the grand scheme of things, perhaps football doesn’t seem so important. It’s given us all a new understanding of the fragility of life and what really matters. But we have also seen countless examples of heroism and sacrifice. Everyone in this country has been directly affected by isolation and loss.
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