The Night Before

Whilst watching Sky Sports News on Wednesday, 9th June 2010 I got the first pangs of regret that we are not in South Africa at this present time. Whether this regret will be upheld in a month’s time is in the hands of the 23 England footballers entrusted with the nation’s hopes.

This is my World Cup Blog, for the most part it will be my observations from my armchair, from my workplace as I go about my normal working life, 6,000 miles from the action. But should the nation be on the edge of their seats contemplating a World Cup Semi Final on 6/7th July then the culmination of the blog will come from South Africa itself as we depart for Cape Town with hope in our hearts.

Sky Sports News were showing the arrival of the first of England’s supporters when I had my regrets. It had been a difficult decision to make, whether to go out for the early stages with the certainty of watching England or wait for the Semi Final and take the chance that we might not leave these shores. Ultimately, it was the thought of England in a World Cup Semi Final and even the Final itself, and having already made the journey and returned, that swayed us towards the latter choice.

We now have conditional tickets for the Semi Final and Final that are only valid if England is one of the competing nations. Our flights are booked, cancellable for £100 and we have hotels in Cape Town that are not demanding the full price of a stay upfront. So we are finally ready to go, but it has been a major headache getting to this point and one which I’m not sure I want to endure for Brazil in four years time . . . we’ll see!

The past week has seen the levels of anticipation rise on a daily basis. The disappointment of losing Rio Ferdinand is last week’s news and people and papers are playing the speculation game as to who will start against the USA, which keeper, who gets the left midfield spot and who partners Rooney upfront. Fabio has got uptight with the first half side in a shabby warm up win and photographers trying to snap goodness knows what through the dressing room windows at the training centre.

But what is already coming across through the television pictures is the colour and the sounds that are going to make this World Cup altogether different from the comparatively sanitised competitions of Europe. Maybe the vuvuzelas are going to be a pain in the ear but nobody will forget the sound of 2010.

Can England win it? It is that belief that will drag Ann and myself and 10,000 others to the Cape. Realistically, Brazil, Spain and Argentina are in front of us with Italy, Holland and Germany on a par at best, so even a semi final place is a stretch. We can but dream.

Today is June 11, today we start to live the dream.