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Wouldn't it be great if Iceland did a Greece or a Denmark ?
They are in the tougher part of the draw, though. Even if they take out France, Italy as the likely semi-final opponent has played pretty solid so far. Then maybe Belgium in the final match.
An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman are in the pub...
The Welshman's not there.
He's still in France.
"...the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."
What a truly thrilling game last night! After the terrible events of the past week (an inveterate media-politics follower, I'm quite drained..) England's Ice-Axit and one too many bore-draw-shootouts, I'd drifted away, failing even to keep my wall chart uptodate (it still isn't). But Wales-Belgium was a classic - two teams desperate to win, with Belgium's misfiring superstars battling against Wales, who play like a sort of super-Iceland, tight, defensive-competitive, dangerous on the break; Handsome Ser Gareth, the star talisman standing tall - but limited ability elsewhere...
Limited Ability? Robson-Kanu's Cruyff-turn & shot was about as perfectly executed as you could wish. You'd think defenders would know the manoeuvre well enough to guard against it now, but the Belgians' lurch in the wrong direction as R-K jinked past was almost comical in its misdirected commitment. You still have to get the shot away though, and didn't he just... Then that last counter-attack, that inspirational soaring header from the sub, Vokes - my faith in football, and the wider world, a little restored.
AS for Germany-Italy... let's hope for a true classic, rather than a war of attrition or a 75-minute stand-off . Italy's 4-3 ET victory in the 1970 WC semi-final (after 89 fairly dire, slow & sweltering minutes) was the match that made me fall in love with thebeautiful game (I already knew what Pele's Brazil could do). The Azzurri ​would always be my 2nd team after that. I don't think I've ever been more emotionally involved in a game than the 2nd Round match in Spain in 1982, Italy 3 Brazil 2.... I still chuckle about it now, the same way I do when I think about Istanbul...
Still can't quite get my head around the sheer hilarious awfulness of this
"...the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."
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