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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Barry Glendenning

The warm glow of pre-Euro 2024 optimism before assorted factors kick in

People gather during the opening ceremony of the Euro 2024 fan mile at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
Berlin’s fan mile gears up. Photograph: Christophe Gateau/AP

THE CALM BEFORE EURO 2024 DAILY

There was excellent news for England at their serene and tranquil Spa & Golf Resort Weimarer Land HQ on Thursday, when all 26 of Gareth Southgate’s players reported to the training pitch for squad manoeuvres. With John Stones having been released from the confines of his five-star quarters following a brief period in quarantine with some unspecified lurgy, the squad gathered for a pre-session huddle in which it was revealed that not a single one of Big Website’s hacks in Germany had predicted they’d win the tournament. Given the famous lack of prescience of these famously know-nothing reverse-Mystic Megs, it was arguably the clearest indication yet that, finally, It’s Coming Home.

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