It had been universally accepted that England needed a performance to reinvigorate their fans here in Germany after the toil of their opening Euro 2024 ties against Serbia and Denmark. One of the principal takeaways from a claustrophobic and emotional night was that the fans were certainly connected.
Moved to boo at the interval after a display that lacked bite, they raised the intensity in the second period, belting out their songs for almost the duration of it. There was something faintly heroic about their efforts. They got louder and louder because they believed that a goal was coming. And if they did not believe, they sang anyway, losing themselves in the moment, the occasion. Call it blind faith.
