Gareth Southgate's words were diplomatic but his eyes and broad smile told the real story. The subject was that video, the J one of the Wales squad celebrating wildly upon England's Euro 2016 exit against Iceland in the last 16. Would the England manager draw upon it before the World Cup meeting with Wales tonight?
"I couldn't say," Southgate replied. "We are aware of some of that but I couldn't say if we would use it or not..." As Southgate trailed off, all that was missing from him was a nod. The clip had landed, all right. Southgate was an observer for Uefa's technical committee that night rather than a part of the England setup but he felt it - a shovel of salt to an open wound.
The subsequent Wales explanations did not exactly smooth things over - the protestations of having been lost in the romance of Iceland's moment, the kinship with an underdog nation. Perhaps the Wales players were just sorry that the footage had leaked. Then again maybe they were not.
Luke Shaw has already referenced it here in Qatar, the defender saying that England are a "respectful group" who "do things in the right way". In other words, they would not gloat at the demise of a rival. But the dynamics of an England fixture against one of the home nations have long been peculiarly lopsided, the impression being that they do not have as much to gain in victory and so much more to lose in defeat.
This story is from the November 29, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 29, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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