By Charles Lim
Nope, football isn’t coming home this year to England as Italy beat the Three Lions by penalty shoot-out after a tense game that went into extra time in the 2020 Euro finals.
Or maybe it did, briefly for 65 minutes, between Luke Shaw’s second minute goal for England and the equalizer by Italy’s Leonardo Bonucci. England’s dream of reaching the finals, was perhaps already a homecoming of sorts.
Italy started as favorites and produced a memorable performance as they came back into the game from being one down. Clearly, they had a well-oiled machine to record their 34th game, undefeated.
Only Harry Kane and Harry Maguire converted the penalties for England with keeper Pickford brilliantly saving two. Youngsters Marcus Rashford, Jardon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all failed to convert, perhaps feeling the intense pressure.
Domenico Berardi, Bonucci and Federico Bernardeshi converted for Italy for the 3-2 score to bring football home to Rome to end their own title drought.
Inside Wembley Stadium over 60,000 (seems like 90,000), England fans created a memorable atmosphere, never seen quite like this in this generation. The pandemic had made the football “tribe” overly emotional as they sang a newfound anthem – the hit made popular by Neil Diamond in the late 60s – Sweet Caroline:
Hands, touching hands, reaching out
Touching you, touching me
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seem so good
I’ve been inclined
To believe it never would but now I
Look at the night
And it don’t seem so lonely
Imagine thousands of voices creating those sentimental moments, spurring the home team on. Many on the stands and at home were teary eyed.
On the concern of allowing spectators to watch the games live, health authorities are on tenterhooks if this would be the super spreader of COVID 19, of whatever variant, We would know in the days or weeks to come. We pray that UEFA and the London host city had taken all precautions during this tournament.
Over in Rio de Janeiro, halfway across the world, Argentina beat archrivals Brazil 1-0 in an el classico Copa America finals over the weekend too.
However, due to a more uncontrollable pandemic situation, the government only allowed 7,800 spectators or ten percent of the iconic 78,000 seat Maracana Stadium.
In Japan, where the much-awaited 2020 Tokyo Olympics will begin in a few day’s time, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Japan Host Organizing Committee (JHOC) have firmly decided that there will be no live audience in all events. No foreign as well as local spectators.
They have magnanimously taken a stand to safeguard the host nation that is still under emergency due to the epidemic. Japan has spent no less than $15 billion preparing for the games and was expecting millions of foreign spectators in the month-long summer Games as well as the Paralympics 2020 in August.
They will now have, in quarantine at the Games Village at the Bayside, around 15,000 athletes. Still, sports tourism is alive.
The fact that the Games will proceed is a tribute to athletes all around the world who have dared to dream. The IOC have not let you down; the Olympic spirit is as strong as ever.
God speed to all our 19 Olympians.
