The morning before last was when England were scheduled to play Mexico in the fabulous Asteca stadium in Mexico City in the football World Cup. I thought that this was a match that England were destined to lose as they were playing in the rarified atmosphere of Mexico City at a height greater than Ben Nevis against essentially a team playing on their home ground who had hardly ever been beaten in this stadium. In fact the record of Mexico i this stadium is only two losses in the last 89 games so the statistical odds were greatly stacked against England. I had not intended to watch the match but this intention changed in the course of the night. After I had gone to bed knowing that had an early start the next morning, I woke up in the middle of the night just at the point where the English striker, Jude Bellingham (from Stourbridge i.e. almost a local lad) had scored two goals with only a gap of 97 seconds between them. So England were leading 2:0 only for the Mexicans to pull back a goal going into half time at 2:1. At this point, I was wide awake and was sufficiently excited to watch the second half of the match which was pulsating. England were awarded a penalty from which Harry Kane scored and at that point England seemed to have victory assured with a 3:1 scoreline. But then after a controversial VAR decision, England had a penalty awarded against them and worst was to follow when an English player was shown the red card. i.e. sent off for a reckless challenge whilst defending the goal. So the game became massively more challenging England were down to 10 men and defending a 3:2 lead. The Mexicans launched wave upon wave of attack upon the English goal for what was about the last 36 minutes of the game which by some inspired substitutions the England team managed to repel. Then thee was an unbearable 11 minutes of extra time added which became more than 12 minutes and the England team fight the game of their lives to grimly hand on and to secure a victory against Mexico very much against the odds. The England team played better than at any other time in the tournament and each player excelled themselves with one of the most exciting, and noteworthy England football performances of all time. Mexico’s pure footballing strength can be debated, but given all the complications in the buildup around the altitude, the kickoff time, the weather and the furore outside the team hotel, Sunday’s triumph has to rank as one of England’s finest tournament victories away from Wembley. This was only Mexico’s third home defeat in 90 matches, and England did it playing with 10 men for 36 minutes. England won the World Cup in 1966 and reached the final of Euro 2020, but both tournaments were at home. Notable past wins include beating Argentina in Japan in 2002, Croatia 4-2 in 2004 and Netherlands 2-1 in the Euro 2024 semifinals, but nowhere have they faced an atmosphere quite as hostile as this. If England can rouse themselves in the quarter finals, their opponents will be Norway who have reached their position by defeating Brazil 3:0. So against my better intentions, I only had a couple of hours of sleep because of the football but owing to the significant victory, I am actually pleased to have witnessed this in real time. One question has been raised about the VAR officials who were all from Latin American countries and the question is raised whether their integrity may have been compromised in a game as significant as this one. The penalty award awarded to England was a clear cut penalty but the one awarded against them was much more questionable as Harry Kane’s outstretched foot was reaching for the ball when contact was made with the foot of an opposing player.
Despite my lack of sleep, I got on the road just after 7.45 and was able to deliver the car ready for its service just before 8.15 – by getting it in at the front of the queue, I am hopeful that the service might be completed by 11.30 or so. I walked down to the nearby Morrison’s supermarket and then availed myself of one of their cooked breakfasts, eating all of the protein elements but avoiding the toast. I had picked up a copy of the newspaper on the way and so after my breakfast, I engaged in solving a ‘Fiendish’ Soduku which, of course, helps to pass the time. Then, upon successfully completing this, I made a slow and deliberate peregrination of the store looking at some of the hardware and clothing elements and making a note of some of the things that I might but in the future. I was tempted into one purchase, however, which was a Morrison’s own brand rechargeable electric toothbrush which I bought for £15.00. Then I sat outside in the sunshine reading my newspaper and was delighted to get a call from the garage that m car was ready cor collection at just about 11.30 as they had promised. When got home I had a little doze and then made myself a salad which was quite sufficient for me after the large cooked breakfast. A massive footballing controversy has erupted this morning and one that seems quite unprecedented. In advance of the USA v Belgium played to be played very late tonight, one of the star American players who had been issued with a red card and was therefore suspended for one game, was reinstated. It has emerged that Donald Trump telephoned the head of FIFA ‘requesting’ (i.e. demanding) a review which was granted and the red card although not rescinded is put on probation for a year, releasing Badogun the American star players from tonight’s match. The rest of the footballing world in general, and UEFA in particular, are outraged because this is blatant and transparent political influence with the intention of aiding (or not handicapping) the USA team. Some commentators are already making the point that the USA team can only be damaged by such shenanigans for if the lose, they lose but were they to win this would be seen as the direct result of cheating and unfair political influence. One could only wish that the entire Belgium team be led off the pitch if the ‘suspended’ player is allowed to play and that every other opposing team would the same. A wise American manager might decide it would be the USA’s best interests and the sport as a whole that the suspended player not be picked for selection for today’s match but we shall have to wait and see what transpires.