On the long walk around the Al Bayt Stadium to the chaotic Uber car park after England’s win over Senegal, the conversation said it all.
In front of me were two women and a man, all of a certain age, all of them bearing either England hats or T-shirts. The walk had been a long one and they were, understandably, beginning to tire.
A concerned fellow England fan turned to them, asking if they were all right.
“We’re fine,” one of the women with a thick Lancashire accent laughed breathlessly. “As long as England win and keep playing like that, we’ll keep coming back and we’ll do it all again!”
Hearing that, I smiled. England’s World Cup campaign is indeed delivering what Gareth Southgate promised before a ball was kicked two weeks ago.
It IS supplying us with reasons to be cheerful. It is providing us with the escapism we need from the cost-of-living crisis.
It does have out-of-touch politicians out of breath trying to jump, yet again, on the bandwagon.
It has become one of the few areas of our lives where we can lose ourselves, live on the edge of our seats, then hug strangers as our national team fills us with pride.
Watching footage of some of my friends, neighbours and relatives celebrating the goals from Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka on Monday night, I had a twinge of envy. I wanted to be there with them. It was hard to get away from the feeling that football bonds our country like nothing else.
Especially as the cold, winter nights draw in. Especially when we are having to contend with Matt Hancock’ s alleged Covid lies, strike concerns and worries about the predicted cold snap.
When racists cross the line as they did with Marcus Rashford, Saka and Jadon Sancho last year, they are outnumbered by those who show love and support and restore our faith in human nature.
We initially rolled our eyes at the prospect of a winter World Cup. Truth be told, it is a ray of light for the country at one of our darkest times.
