It’s been two years since that penalty shoot-out
I’m one of those people who uses football seasons to mark life events. It’s not ‘Christmas from three years ago’, it’s Christmas in the 16/17 season. It also helps that my school year correlated with the actual year it was, and that the season and the academic year would roughly line up. Sometimes football and life coincide with equally dramatic events, like when Palace lost 4-0 to David Moyes’ Sunderland, I left early (don’t @ me) and went home to be greeted by a dumping.
But the 2018 World Cup is special in that sense as there really was a lot going on. My brother was in hospital following a road accident and while he watched the game on one of those cheap TVs, all he properly remembers from it were the people actively supporting Colombia on his ward. What I remember from July 2nd 2018 is sitting with him in the afternoon, sending emails on his behalf, and going home to watch one of the most stressful and exciting football matches in my life. I remember being utterly speechless afterwards. I remember crashing to my living room floor when Kieran Trippier mistimed his jump and allowed Yerry Mina’s header to sneak in under the bar. I remember my heart sinking when Henderson’s penalty was saved – if anyone deserved to miss, it wasn’t Hendo. I remember the pure relief when Uribe hit the bar, the hope when Pickford saved from Bacca, and the childlike joy when Dier (just about) buried his penalty. And I remember telling my brother all about it when he came home.
This BBC montage, soundtracked by The National, does funny things to me.
It was a much simpler time to be alive. We should be enjoying similar scenes at Wembley this month. And we will, next year.
Enjoy the quiz.
