FEATURE: It was Coming Home

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Nearly three years have passed since one of the most dramatic football games that I (and the same could almost certainly be said for a majority of this generation of young football fans) have ever witnessed, took place.

Despite it being the evening, the sun was still beating down relentlessly as thousands upon thousands gathered in homes, pubs or wherever a television and cold drinks could be found, to tune in for the World Cup Round of 16 tie between England and Colombia.

After a relatively simple progression through the group stages, which included a 6-1 demolition of Panama, excitement was rife throughout the nation as England entered the knockout stages of the most prestigious sports competition on the globe.

Colombia were a tough opponent but if England were able to defeat the South American side, their path to the final may actually have been an easier one than anyone would’ve anticipated at the beginning of the tournament; some Englishmen were starting to let themselves believe that England could actually go all the way.

Often at this time, this belief was expressed in the form of belting out the words ‘It’s coming home!’ at the top of your lungs!

I remember being a bundle of nervous energy as the game kicked off.

I’m a realist when it comes to football (it’s what being an Everton fan does to you!) and I was not letting myself get carried away by the overwhelming sense of expectation sweeping the nation at this point.

I knew Colombia were a good side; England would have to play well to beat them.

But the Three Lions started excellently in Moscow and with Harry Kane coming close with a looping header on 16 minutes that couldn’t quite creep in underneath the bar.

Less than ten minutes in after the interval, Kane was bundled over by a Colombia player at a corner and a penalty was awarded to England.

Kane stepped up to take it, having already put away two spot kicks in the game against Panama, and he added a third to that total, thumping the ball down the centre of the goal and sending not only the England fans in Russia but also the entire nation into a sense of delirium.

It did seem like England were going to hold on but towards the end of the game, Colombia defender Yerry Mina equalised from a corner, causing widespread heartbreak throughout the nation, and with the two sides still not separated after extra time, the match was to go down to a penalty shootout.

I don’t believe that it would be an exaggeration to state that at the very moment that the final whistle blew and confirmed that penalties were beckoning, the entirety of the nation emitted a long, suffering groan.

England’s record in penalty shootouts was abysmal to say the least; they had never won one in a World Cup match before.

By this time, the night was beginning to set in and brought with it a rather bitter chill to replace the heat.

This chill was felt all across the country.

The optimism of the past few days was gone.

The typical England fan’s pessimism had set back in.

It was over.

England were going out of the World Cup.

On penalties.

Again.

Radamel Falcao stepped up first for the Colombians and hit a fantastic penalty into the top of Jordan Pickford’s net.

England’s first penalty taker was the ever-reliable Kane and he struck a clinical shot into the bottom corner.

1-1.

Colombia winger Juan Cuadrado was next, and he converted his penalty, making the score 2-1.

Then came England’s Marcus Rashford.

Goal.

Luis Muriel followed for the South Americans.

Goal.

Then came the Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson and he saw his penalty saved brilliantly by the Colombia keeper David Ospina.

It was at this point that almost every England fan watching got a sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach.

The end was near and, almost inevitably, heartbreak was to follow.

Some would’ve cried, some would’ve shouted angrily, some might even have turned off the television.

There may even have been some who still believed England could pull it off, despite the negativity surrounding them.

Not me though.

I know for a fact that at this moment in time I was stomping round my living room, disgusted at the fact that a Liverpool player had messed up so badly and was going to be responsible for our dreams coming to an end!

But then I thought, ‘Never fear, it’s up to the Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to rescue us and keep us in this tournament!’

Pickford didn’t need to do anything for the next spot kick as Colombia’s Mateus Uribe saw his shot hit the underside of the crossbar and bounce out.

All was not lost yet.

But it was vital that England scored their next penalty and Kieran Trippier made no mistake, bringing the scores back level to 3-3; both sides had taken four penalties each.

Up next for the South American side was Carlos Bacca and his penalty was saved superbly with the hand of none other than Jordan Pickford.

I for one was going berserk as were thousands up and down the country.

But as we all settled down, the tension set back in again.

Not many of us had been expecting this.

England actually had the chance of winning a penalty shootout at a World Cup.

And then there was Eric Dier, the fifth penalty taker for the Three Lions.

The initiative was now with England and Dier needed only to score with this kick and we would have won the shootout.

The country will have been divided between people who either fixed their eyes upon the Tottenham midfielder as Dier strode up to take his shot, or else closed them tight, not daring to look.

Personally, I was one of the brave ones.

I was one of the ones who saw Dier hit the ball right into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal, beyond the desperate grasp of keeper Ospina.

I was one of the many who shrieked in pure delight as I realised that we had done it, that we had won our first ever penalty shootout at a World Cup and were heading for the quarter-finals.

I began sprinting around the room, screaming with jubilation, punching the air and every so often quickly glancing at the telly just to ensure I was not dreaming.

Eventually, drenched in sweat, with adrenaline still coursing through my veins, I sat back down and saw Pickford had returned to the screen and I began to sing the name of my hero.

But that is just an example of one household, of one England fan.

There will be so many others, each with their own individual story to tell of that wonderful night.

And that’s why we love football.

One man kicking a ball into a net, in a completely different country can bring so much joy to practically an entire population, thousands of miles away.

In the event, England didn’t go on to win the whole tournament, or even reach the final and sadly it did not come home.

However, that night in Moscow set in motion an extraordinary week-long state of euphoria right in the heart of one of the hottest summers ever recorded in our country’s history.

Whether you liked football or not, it was infectious; everybody was on a high.

The 2018 World Cup was one of the most incredible events of recent times to have occurred in this country.

The delayed Euros begin on Friday and it is the most fancied an England side has been for a tournament for a long while make no mistake.

It is a very different team than the one that went to Russia with a fresh injection of a potential golden generation of young English footballers.

But the same Gareth Southgate remains to lead out the troops and it will be up to him to try and recapture the spirit of three years previously.

Maybe, just maybe, this time football will come home.