Gareth Southgate leaves the concentration hotel this Monday, DPA via Europa Press / Europa Press
"Dear England." Thus began the open letter that the English coach, Gareth Southgate, made public at the beginning of June. A letter in which he made a passionate defense of his English patriotism, the commitment of his young players and the importance of fighting racism and abuse online. A letter in which he defended the importance of winning but also the need to accept defeat. A foreboding letter. Everything that happened on Sunday is in that letter. Patriotism. The delivery of an entire nation in support of your team. The commitment of the footballers. The desire to win. The eventuality of defeat. And the racism that was unleashed later against the three English players who missed penalties, which fate has wanted all of them black in a formidably diverse team.
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An image of Wembley will remain from the historic final of Wembley: the long and heartfelt hug with which Southgate tries to comfort Bukayo Saka, a 19-year-old boy born in West London to Nigerian parents who could have been a hero and some have wanted turn into a villain.
Southgate can't stop talking as he hugs him.
And he knows very well what he is talking about because he went through that same trauma 25 years ago, also at Wembley, when he missed the decisive penalty in the semifinals of the Euro 1996 against Germany.
England believed that by beating the Germans in the round of 16 they had managed to conjure up the specter of permanent defeats, which inevitably follow one after another at the decisive moment since they beat West Germany in the mythical World Cup final in 1966. At Wembley too.
As is often the case, the English go from uneasiness to excessive euphoria.
The European Championship seemed like a piece of cake.
The bear's skin was already sold before hunting it.
A reflection of the country
The advantage of playing at home in six of the seven games, the ease with which they toppled weak Ukraine in Rome, the courtesy of the referees in the unexpectedly tense and balanced semi-final against Denmark… It all brought England to the laurels. Fate was written in advance and the proof of this was Luke Shaw's goal before the first two minutes of the final against Italy were completed. The Italians looked knocked out for a long time and the English players danced with Harry Kane doing mischief that actually led nowhere. England believed it and committed the worst of footballing sins: belittling the opponent. She forgot to finish off Italy when she was hurt. Wounded, yes, but not dead. Because Italy is Italy.
What happens to England with football happens often with everything else. Being as it is a powerful, advanced, often generous country, a pioneer in a multitude of disciplines, from science to the arts to thought, it is also a petulant country, incapable of accepting its limitations and of submitting to self-criticism. The disappointment over Sunday's defeat was immense, very painful. Especially as unexpected despite the fact that, in the eyes of neutrals, Italy had done better football than England before the final and had overcome more difficult obstacles, particularly in the agonizing semi-final against Spain.
But, unlike other defeats in the past, and despite the abuse on the Internet, England is not going to do the haraquiri this time.
Gareth Southgate is not going to be lynched by either the media or the fans, although he made serious mistakes in the final.
Despite everything, the English can look to the future with optimism because one of the best crops of English football of all time is ripening.
So, dear England, heaven can wait.
Perhaps it is much closer than it seems.
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