England v Spain
The Christmas Lottery in Spain, known as El Gordo, the fat one, believed to be the biggest in the world, with payouts approaching two and a half billion euros, but with ways of sharing prizes to community levels. If Spain wins today their Christmas lottery win will have come early.
Sunday 20 August
I have to search hard in the print media for detailed background analysis of the Spanish team. I remember the team’s 4-0 loss against Japan. Like England, they scraped through qualifiers, and improved as the tournament progressed.
Other similarities, both teams have been weakened by injuries and illnesses to top players. Both are in disputes with their national bodies. Both have the unity of a strong group of players from a dominant club (Chelsea and Barcelona).
Spain’s standout player is the mercurial midfielder Astana Bonmati, candidate for the Ballon d’Or, but Batlle and Hermoso have also had powerful performances.
The coverage is on ITV and BBC.
ITV’s build up is scheduled to last longer than the match, if no extra time is played.
A minor story has emerged after Prince William, President of the Football Association sends a sort of apology video for being otherwise occupied.
Optimism is high in England although neutral commentators expect a very close match. But not penalties. I couldn’t face penalties, one English supporter said, reflecting unease beneath the display of confidence.
I had joined in the guess the result game with the popular prediction of a win without any extra time.
A simple warning. Spain has scored 20 goals to England’s 10 in the tournament of which 6 came in a single match, against China, and are considered the more lethal finishers ...
