Those Asian PPers who live in England, why do/don't you support England in sports?

[Kroll]

With cricket, I guess it's easy to explain supporting other teams - reconnecting with the homelands of our parents/culture etc. So what about other sports?

 

[MenInG]

Somehow its the arrogance of the England fans that gets me sometimes...

 

[Saj]

I think many don't due to the arrogance and putting down of the opposition and the belief that they have a god-given right to win.

 

[Bewal Express]

I support England at football, and so do my kids.

 

[James]

I think many don't due to the arrogance and putting down of the opposition and the belief that they have a god-given right to win.

I don’t see any of that from this current team.

 

[babajee]

English teams in any sport are all so overhyped.

 

[Zaz]

I support England at football Hope they win this World Cup

 

[Greenstorm]

I do not live in England but their media and fans hype their average players to the moon and think that the world revolves around them.

 

[Abdullah]

Support England in football and always have.
Cricket is different. Was growing up after my family moved over from Pakistan ( I was born in UK) and they were firm Pak supporters obviously. So that influenced me

 

[Khan12]

They weren't playing well in the second half due to heat lol.

 

[shaz619]

Am a huge England fan in pretty much every sport apart from cricket to respek the origins and how I grew up, I'd also prefer an England World Cup win in the footy then Pak or WI WC win in cricket

 

[shaz619]

I don’t see any of that from this current team.

This team is very humble and hungry

 

[Khan12]

Am a huge England fan in pretty much every sport apart from cricket to respek the origins and how I grew up, I'd also prefer an England World Cup win in the footy then Pak or WI WC win in cricket

Don't see it happening with this mediocre team.

 

[Bewal Express]

Todays performance was the old cliched game of 2 halfs. In the 1st half they played the best any team has played in this World Cup but in the 2nd half England were like England of yesteryear- terrible.

 

[shaz619]

Don't see it happening with this mediocre team.

Don't worry, I went to one Tarawee during Ramadan this year a big improvement over the past. My prayers will be answered. Harry Kane is going to score the winner to get us in a semi final and then we will take it from there. If our mind can conceive it, and our heart can believe it - then we can acheive it.

 

[Khan12]

Don't worry, I went to one Tarawee during Ramadan this year a big improvement over the past. My prayers will be answered. Harry Kane is going to score the winner to get us in a semi final and then we will take it from there. If our mind can conceive it, and our heart can believe it - then we can acheive it.

Hopefully we win it but the way we played the second half doesn't give me any confidence. I hope I am proved worng. We will get a better picture against Belgium.

 

[s28]

Sport is just war minus the shooting

Some of 'The English' with their Imperialistic history do have a very high opinion of themselves and get overly jingo-istic in their 'projection' of soft power via their sports/media/culture etc

However there is a very nice aspect of some English people who are fair minded and have inate sense of fair play and who will always support the underdog.

Bring that together and many 'Asians' who back the opposition to England are simply demonstrating the best of English values and choosing not to demonstrate the negative and jingoistic ones

 

[Bewal Express]

Don't see it happening with this mediocre team.

They are no worse than lots of teams. The quality of players and teams in this WC has been dreadful. Lets see how they do, but Englands problems are psychological and if they break that, they should get to the QF.

 

[shaz619]

Sport is just war minus the shooting

Some of 'The English' with their Imperialistic history do have a very high opinion of themselves and get overly jingo-istic in their 'projection' of soft power via their sports/media/culture etc

However there is a very nice aspect of some English people who are fair minded and have inate sense of fair play and who will always support the underdog.

Bring that together and many 'Asians' who back the opposition to England are simply demonstrating the best of English values and choosing not to demonstrate the negative and jingoistic ones

Sport is not war. There are many passionate people all around the world who show passion / support for their country in sport, why do you always have to bring politics into it or shocking generalisations. You seem like the type of bloke who watches This is England everyday, it's 2018 buddy stop being so foolish to reinforce your jingoistic views / nature.

 

[Khan12]

They are no worse than lots of teams. The quality of players and teams in this WC has been dreadful. Lets see how they do, but Englands problems are psychological and if they break that, they should get to the QF.

I agree there are awful teams but still Germany, France ,Brazil Argentina are better then England on paper at least. But you are right England problems are psychological. Let's hope they break it.

 

[Bewal Express]

I agree there are awful teams but still Germany, France ,Brazil Argentina are better then England on paper at least. But you are right England problems are psychological. Let's hope they break it.

England, at least in the 1st round of matches looked better than all those mentioned. History shows that those teams are better but they all looked short in the 1st round.

 

[KingKhanWC]

I do support England in football but not in cricket.

However I can understand why some Asians dont because they may have been subjected to racism and some English supporters may not see them as English.

I think you should support the country you live in.

What would be interesting is if Pakistan were like Brazil, no Asian would support England then.

 

[gkb101277867]

I'm not English but it's the media hype and arrogance of the English that really makes me root against them. Also the commentary and the panel on the BBC are very biased.

There was a point during the game today when the humidity was blamed for the performance. The midges were also blamed.....I mean do they not take into account that it works both ways and the midges will affect the Tunisian players too.

Also that little futuristic clip of England winning the world cup perfectly sums up why a lot of people don't support them

 

[KingKhanWC]

I'm not English but it's the media hype and arrogance of the English that really makes me root against them. Also the commentary and the panel on the BBC are very biased.

There was a point during the game today when the humidity was blamed for the performance. The midges were also blamed.....I mean do they not take into account that it works both ways and the midges will affect the Tunisian players too.

Also that little futuristic clip of England winning the world cup perfectly sums up why a lot of people don't support them

Tbf the BBC audience is for English fans not nuetral supporters. However the English are known for moaning, being negative to the opposition and making excuses when they lose. The 'hand of God' is still being discussed even though Maradonna scored one of the all time greatest goals later in the game and the best team won.

 

[Bewal Express]

I'm not English but it's the media hype and arrogance of the English that really makes me root against them. Also the commentary and the panel on the BBC are very biased.

There was a point during the game today when the humidity was blamed for the performance. The midges were also blamed.....I mean do they not take into account that it works both ways and the midges will affect the Tunisian players too.

Also that little futuristic clip of England winning the world cup perfectly sums up why a lot of people don't support them

The media have a product to sell and hence the hype. The fans are arrogant at times, but i dont see a problem. Most of the desis in England that i know support England in football and whats more follow the team with more than just a passing interest.

 

[DeadBall]

England should have been 2-3 goals up in the first 10-15 mins. As bad as Tunisia's defence was, England's finishing was even worse.

 

[DeadBall]

I'm not English but it's the media hype and arrogance of the English that really makes me root against them. Also the commentary and the panel on the BBC are very biased.

There was a point during the game today when the humidity was blamed for the performance. The midges were also blamed.....I mean do they not take into account that it works both ways and the midges will affect the Tunisian players too.

Also that little futuristic clip of England winning the world cup perfectly sums up why a lot of people don't support them

I also rooted for Mexico against Germany yesterday as they simply seemed to want it more even though overall Germany is the better team. Having said that, England is no where near Germany.

 

[Khan12]

England, at least in the 1st round of matches looked better than all those mentioned. History shows that those teams are better but they all looked short in the 1st round.

Then teams didn't play Tunisia too. England always look good against avergae team as the real test will be against Belgium. Plus those teams have a lot of quality players unlike England.

 

[Bewal Express]

Then teams didn't play Tunisia too. England always look good against avergae team as the real test will be against Belgium. Plus those teams have a lot of quality players unlike England.

In Tournament football England made TT look decent in 2006 and there are many other examples. The team play with fear, and hence they look poor. Even the much vaunted team of 1990 was very poor until ironically the SF when they played well and lost.

 

[Khan12]

In Tournament football England made TT look decent in 2006 and there are many other examples. The team play with fear, and hence they look poor. Even the much vaunted team of 1990 was very poor until ironically the SF when they played well and lost.

They may play with fear but let's be honest bar Kane none of England players will make any of the top sides playing 11 which is a bitter fact.

 

[Bewal Express]

They may play with fear but let's be honest bar Kane none of England players will make any of the top sides playing 11 which is a bitter fact.

But if you look at the teams of 98, 02, 06 and 10, England had at least 4-5( Adams, Seaman, Campbell, Neville, Ashley Cole, Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham, Shearer, Rooney etc) players that would be playing for the better teams but for England they were awful because of the fear factor.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

They may play with fear but let's be honest bar Kane none of England players will make any of the top sides playing 11 which is a bitter fact.

I don't think there's any outstanding teams at this world cup, Spain are probably the best along with Germany. Teams like Brazil and Argentina have outstanding individuals but don't gel well as a team so difficult to pick a winner. I stopped supporting England football team when I was about 9 or 10, before that I was a diehard fan. Never got it back although I feel like I am missing out. My kids are England fans and I am happy about that.

 

[gkb101277867]

Tbf the BBC audience is for English fans not nuetral supporters. However the English are known for moaning, being negative to the opposition and making excuses when they lose. The 'hand of God' is still being discussed even though Maradonna scored one of the all time greatest goals later in the game and the best team won.

Disagree. The BBC audience is for a BRITISH audience. Fair enough that the only British team in the world cup is England but the 2016 euro's included Wales and northern Ireland too. The amount of coverage given to these teams was 10 percent of the amount given to northern Ireland and Wales combined

 

[Khan12]

But if you look at the teams of 98, 02, 06 and 10, England had at least 4-5( Adams, Seaman, Campbell, Neville, Ashley Cole, Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham, Shearer, Rooney etc) players that would be playing for the better teams but for England they were awful because of the fear factor.

I am not denying that they don't play with fear just stating they don't have any world class players bar Kane who is the closest to being one.

 

[Bewal Express]

I am not denying that they don't play with fear just stating they don't have any world class players bar Kane who is the closest to being one.

Yes at this WC you are right.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Disagree. The BBC audience is for a BRITISH audience. Fair enough that the only British team in the world cup is England but the 2016 euro's included Wales and northern Ireland too. The amount of coverage given to these teams was 10 percent of the amount given to northern Ireland and Wales combined

Not from what I can remember. Wales did really well and were given a lot of coverage and applauded widely for they way they played. But maybe they should make sure they have one guest at least who is from the oppositions nationlality as they do in cricket.

 

[Bewal Express]

Disagree. The BBC audience is for a BRITISH audience. Fair enough that the only British team in the world cup is England but the 2016 euro's included Wales and northern Ireland too. The amount of coverage given to these teams was 10 percent of the amount given to northern Ireland and Wales combined

Because they make 10% of the population.

 

[Khan12]

I don't think there's any outstanding teams at this world cup, Spain are probably the best along with Germany. Teams like Brazil and Argentina have outstanding individuals but don't gel well as a team so difficult to pick a winner. I stopped supporting England football team when I was about 9 or 10, before that I was a diehard fan. Never got it back although I feel like I am missing out. My kids are England fans and I am happy about that.

England need superstars which unfortunately they lack someone who can bring back the interest for the casual football supporters.

 

[Robert]

I think many don't due to the arrogance and putting down of the opposition and the belief that they have a god-given right to win.

I have never heard any England team in any sport act that way.

 

[Pakistanian]

Even the Scots and Welsh don't support them lol.

In America, Irish American support Ireland and German Americans support Germany but you'll never see English Americans support England lol. There's just something repulsive about the English team.

 

[IMMY69]

I support England.
Even in Cricket, when they/we are not playing Pakistan.

I support England so much that I’ve even got behind the English midfield and striker even though tjey’re Mostly from Spurs.. trust me bring a lifelong Gooner this hasn’t been the easiest thing to do.

 

[the Great Khan]

support them in most things..unless they play Pakistan lol..

Footie have always supported them. Since I was a kid. cricket have never supported them except when they play India.

Rugby i support them and in athletics. Also support our race car drivers. Oh and the tennis lol.

What grates me is slly comments from illiterate commentators like Keown etc who just get all jingoistic when playing a slightly lesser team. Tunisia played a very defensive game yesterday and nearly got a draw. Yes they cheated a bit but to denigrate them like he was, was ignorant.

Also I'm not a fan of England fans. Most are yobs and racists and can turn you off from supporting the team.

 

[Markhor]

I'm not a very nationalistic person to begin with, I just want to see exciting and dramatic matches whatever the sport. However I have always been completely ambivalent towards the England national team.

The main reason is because the club rivalries here are so intense I cannot bring myself to support Man Utd or Chelsea players. I invest so much emotionally into supporting my club for 9 months of the year that its hard to have the same affection for another team. I just want my players to return injury free.

Secondly, I find the INGERLUND fan culture embarrassing - from the drunken yobs to the repetitive and imbecilic songs (singing about WW2 when playing Germany, booing other teams' anthems or singing the Great Escape every 5 seconds) and the sense of entitlement before every tournament.

England football fans generally just scream UKIP to me.

Another reason why I actively rooted against England at the last few tournaments is because Roy Hodgson was the manager. As a Liverpool fan I know how nasty and incompetent a man he is, and how the "gentleman" image he sells to everyone is a total fraud. I laughed my behind off when Luis Suarez and Iceland knocked him off at the last two tournaments. Bit harder to dislike Gareth Southgate.

I also enjoy the media meltdown from clowns like Chris Waddle when England inevutably crash out of a tournament. The media is probably no more jingoistic than other nations but here its so overwhelming, especially the tabloids.

But I'll cheer on Andy Murray, and wish the England cricket team well in an Ashes series.

 

[shaz619]

LOL @ Liverpool fans taking the morale high ground ) ) Hilarious

 

[James]

Is Hodgson nasty? Incompetent I totally agree, but never got nastiness from him? Unless I missed something.

 

[Hitman]

support them in most things..unless they play Pakistan lol..

Footie have always supported them. Since I was a kid. cricket have never supported them except when they play India.

Rugby i support them and in athletics. Also support our race car drivers. Oh and the tennis lol.

What grates me is slly comments from illiterate commentators like Keown etc who just get all jingoistic when playing a slightly lesser team. Tunisia played a very defensive game yesterday and nearly got a draw. Yes they cheated a bit but to denigrate them like he was, was ignorant.

Also I'm not a fan of England fans. Most are yobs and racists and can turn you off from supporting the team.

Were you born and raised in England?

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Hodgson always seemed like a very decent bloke, as are most of the England players these days to be fair, I think that's Markhor is seeing everything through a scouse lens, god help him. The real sticking point for me has always been the Daily Mail mentality behind the jingoism. We have moved on a lot in a couple of generations, but it's still there, only the outsiders are now Muslims/***** instead of Irish/blacks.

 

[ManFan]

Think the answer is obvious as most of the Asians residing in England still have strong connections to where they might have immigrated from.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Case in point, the P word is considered offensive enough that it has to be bleeped out even on a Pakistani website. It originated as an offensive term on these shores, and having ended up in enough fights as a schoolkid on the back of it, can be hard to shake when you are older.

 

[Napa]

I have never heard any England team in any sport act that way.

Not the English teams, but the English tabloids are certainly arrogant and xenophobic.

England should have been 2-3 goals up in the first 10-15 mins. As bad as Tunisia's defence was, England's finishing was even worse.

Really pathetic finishing by the players other than Kane. A forward like Suarez would have scored half a dozen goals from the chances the other English players had.

 

[hadi123]

I live in England but parents and rest of family are from Pakistan. The only 2 sports I follow properly are football and cricket. In cricket I support Pakistan as I feel I am more Pakistani than English due to living in a Pakistani household etc. In football I support England though as that's where I live. Obviously if Pakistan played England in any sport I would always support Pakistan but Pakistan aren't really established in sport like football, rugby etc.

 

[Zahid87]

Secondly, I find the INGERLUND fan culture embarrassing - from the drunken yobs to the repetitive and imbecilic songs (singing about WW2 when playing Germany, booing other teams' anthems or singing the Great Escape every 5 seconds) and the sense of entitlement before every tournament.

England football fans generally just scream UKIP to me.

I agree with this. Especially the sense of entitlement bit. I mean, you imagine that half of these guys watch football...and the Premier League especially. You would think that they would get a sense of the level of World Class football - watching Ronaldo vs Walcott, or Henderson vs De Bruyne, and see how far behind England, year after year. But apparently not....

Also, growing up, I thought it was only England fans who were one-eyed - the internet has disproven that in time, but it was something that really annoyed me, and I have not been able to shake off.

Growing up in the 90's, you would still get mentions of Maradona and the 'hand of god'. On the playground. By kids who had never even seen Maradona play. I never understood why people cared so much, that they instill a sense of so called injustice, into their children about a football game.

Hearing about '66 over and over again.....

'98 England were robbed. 2002, England were 'unlucky' to go out apparently because of a certain Ronaldinho. 2006, cheating 'portugeezer' Ronaldo, 2010 a 4-1 hammering all down to a linesman missing Lampard's goal, 2014...well I think the media just stopped trying then, and blamed Roy.

Listening to all that crap has made it difficult for me to like the English football team. Is it so hard to see that on no occasion did England have a team worthy of going deep into the tournament. That they were just not that good?

Ok, lots of the nonsense is from the likes of The Sun and The Daily Mail....but the BBC and ITV with their one eyed commentary only serve to perpetuate the myths that The Sun comes up with.

 

[the Great Khan]

Were you born and raised in England?

Born in the UK, raised in pakistan(formative years), then back to the uk.

 

[the Great Khan]

Not the English teams, but the English tabloids are certainly arrogant and xenophobic.



Really pathetic finishing by the players other than Kane. A forward like Suarez would have scored half a dozen goals from the chances the other English players had.

well he didnt the other day did he..its easy saying suarez would have done this or that but you have to make the chances to score them and uruguay just looked poor the other day. Suarez included.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

well he didnt the other day did he..its easy saying suarez would have done this or that but you have to make the chances to score them and uruguay just looked poor the other day. Suarez included.

I think England have an outside chance of winning, albeit a long shot. They are relatively organised defensively, they have a couple of top class goalscorers in Kane and Vardy, for a cup competition that can be enough. Realistically, they'll bottle it somewhere down the line, or won't cope with one of the other team's superstar player, but in theory they could do it....( )

 

[Minnowbasher]

I feel like it's because of the way English people regard us Asians as different and as muslims we receive a lot of negativity in the media. I only support England cricket when they are not playing Pakistan and that too only because they have moeen ali and aadil Rashid. This is because everyone here sees me as a Pakistani first and so I also see myself as Pakistani first although I am born and bred here. If anything living in uk makes me more passionate as I feel I almost represent Pakistan and Pakistanis when I go out in public because that's how everyone sees me.

 

[DeadBall]

I feel like it's because of the way English people regard us Asians as different and as muslims we receive a lot of negativity in the media. I only support England cricket when they are not playing Pakistan and that too only because they have moeen ali and aadil Rashid. This is because everyone here sees me as a Pakistani first and so I also see myself as Pakistani first although I am born and bred here. If anything living in uk makes me more passionate as I feel I almost represent Pakistan and Pakistanis when I go out in public because that's how everyone sees me.

I felt the same way during my two years over there, never got so many stares in any other European country, even the overtly racist ones. Hated the place. No wonder so many British born Asians see themselves as not English and develop identity crises even though they may be even more English than the "native" English.

 

[Napa]

well he didnt the other day did he..its easy saying suarez would have done this or that but you have to make the chances to score them and uruguay just looked poor the other day. Suarez included.

I concede the point

I was thinking about Suarez at his peak rather than the one playing in the current WC.

 

[Saj]

I asked a friend of mine this question today. His reply "Look at the front page of the Sun a couple of days ago, there's your answer."

 

[James]

I asked a friend of mine this question today. His reply "Look at the front page of the Sun a couple of days ago, there's your answer."

Sounds like a seriously astute fellow, judging a nation of 50-odd million people by a single page of its most widely acknowledged “toilet paper” rag.

 

[KingKhanWC]

I asked a friend of mine this question today. His reply "Look at the front page of the Sun a couple of days ago, there's your answer."

Trash paper but he has a point to some extent.

Even commentators, pundits, writers and others have started to talk nonsense actually believing England will win this because they are a great team playing wonderful football. While at the same time abusing the opposition team. Columbia did some playacting and were rightly criticised but the abuse they were getting even from proffesional and knowledgeable football pundits was embarrassing to hear. Yet they dismissed Henderson's drama which arguably the worst of the game.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Sounds like a seriously astute fellow, judging a nation of 50-odd million people by a single page of its most widely acknowledged “toilet paper” rag.

It's acknowledged as a toilet paper by those who disagree with it, but it, along with the Daily Mail and other rags outsell the other more sensible papers by a country mile. Would we have had Brexit if people weren't influenced by these toilet papers and their xenophobic fear mongering?

I haven't seen the front page in question, but I've seen enough in my time to know they do a lot of damage. These guys are getting paid to write this stuff because there is an audience.

 

[Slog]

I was watching the Columbia game at a bar in Bangkok with a bunch of British people and saw an interesting exchange which I do not know what to make of.

So one of the guys watching a few seats away from me was a British Pakistani (I'm assuming. Might be British Indian). And this white English guy comes up and days, "Who you're supporting?"

British Asian guy replies, "England, mate!"

English guy says, "Why? Are you English?"

British Asian: "Born and bred there!"

English guy: "That's cool. That's all I'm gonna say. I am totally cool with it!" And then he goes back to his seat!

For me it was very weird to watch and honestly I have no idea what the white guy had going on in his head.

 

[Robert]

Somehow its the arrogance of the England fans that gets me sometimes...

I have never seen evidence if this. The English are a self-deprecating lot.

 

[James]

It is not arrogance with the England fans IMO, some of them just get very overexcited when the team is winning. England fans in truth will on another day be the first ones to call every player rubbish, petition for the manager to be sacked and demand an independent inquiry into the FA.

 

[Zahid87]

Sounds like a seriously astute fellow, judging a nation of 50-odd million people by a single page of its most widely acknowledged “toilet paper” rag.

It is the most widely read/circulated paper in Britain though right? So it probably speaks for a large number of people.

In any case...I have tried really hard to get behind England this time. The PR exercise was working its charm. But then Tuesday night ITV kicked in. Anything the Colombians did was magnified to another level...wheras the behavior of Henderson, Stones and the blatant dive from Harry Maguire were brushed over as though they were inconsequential.

The levels of jingoism are unbelievable. I don't understand why the commentators and the TV pundits, feel the need to cheerlead their team on unashamedly. I don't think you see that in any other sport in this country - apart from Botham on Sky, and even he is not that bad (in comparison).

Again, this is the England - a first world country that supposedly has the ability to look at itself, warts and all. It's not supposed to be a third world nation like India and Pakistan, where the populace is force fed patriotism through the nose in an effort to mask the country's flaws on a day to day basis. Why do you need to do this?

 

[James]

It's acknowledged as a toilet paper by those who disagree with it, but it, along with the Daily Mail and other rags outsell the other more sensible papers by a country mile. Would we have had Brexit if people weren't influenced by these toilet papers and their xenophobic fear mongering?

I haven't seen the front page in question, but I've seen enough in my time to know they do a lot of damage. These guys are getting paid to write this stuff because there is an audience.

I accept that all of your points have merit here, I just object to being tarred with the same brush as some of the garden tools out there who read the daily rags, when (even considering the most optimistic of combined circulation figures) nowadays less than 10% of the population buys the S*n and the Fail.

 

[James]

This team is very humble and hungry

It comes from the leadership. Gareth Southgate is clearly a decent man. He was the first person to console the Colombian players after they lost the penalty shootout. According to some, Southgate manages a smug team that thinks it is entitled to win matches before turning up, but honestly the evidence in this tournament would suggest otherwise.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

It is not arrogance with the England fans IMO, some of them just get very overexcited when the team is winning. England fans in truth will on another day be the first ones to call every player rubbish, petition for the manager to be sacked and demand an independent inquiry into the FA.

I don't think there's anything wrong with being excited about your team, when we see Brazil or Mexican fans cheering wildly for their team we love it, so England fans have every right to get excited as well. It's the other baggage which is associated with England fans which has always been a problem. If I quoted the chants from England fans at they Euro qualifier against Turkey in 2003 it wouldn't get past the censors on this board.

Things have changed a lot for the better it should be said, but it's still a work in progress, and I grew up in shall we say, interesting times which has made supporting England hard work. I actually envy someone like shaz who can support them wholeheartedly, but I just don't feel it.

 

[Sidilicious]

I was watching the Columbia game at a bar in Bangkok with a bunch of British people and saw an interesting exchange which I do not know what to make of.

So one of the guys watching a few seats away from me was a British Pakistani (I'm assuming. Might be British Indian). And this white English guy comes up and days, "Who you're supporting?"

British Asian guy replies, "England, mate!"

English guy says, "Why? Are you English?"

British Asian: "Born and bred there!"

English guy: "That's cool. That's all I'm gonna say. I am totally cool with it!" And then he goes back to his seat!

For me it was very weird to watch and honestly I have no idea what the white guy had going on in his head.

That is weird. I don’t live in England anymore, but still support England after work India, having lived there for half of my life.

I was watching the match in Munich ina beergarten and was clearly supporting England. There was a lot of English presence and no one batted an eyelid. I was clearly the only brown lad supporting England. Had random conversations on the game with some English supporters in the Munich metro and no one even bothered asking me if I were English. They just assumed I was.

 

[hadi123]

Sounds like a seriously astute fellow, judging a nation of 50-odd million people by a single page of its most widely acknowledged “toilet paper” rag.

Agreed, that's a pathetic excuse not to support England.

 

[shaz619]

Trash paper but he has a point to some extent.

Even commentators, pundits, writers and others have started to talk nonsense actually believing England will win this because they are a great team playing wonderful football. While at the same time abusing the opposition team. Columbia did some playacting and were rightly criticised but the abuse they were getting even from proffesional and knowledgeable football pundits was embarrassing to hear. Yet they dismissed Henderson's drama which arguably the worst of the game.

lmao you're still at it? bloody hell, you're a top lad but I just think you've spent too many nights in Anfield

In response to the rubbish highlighted, please read the following from Alan Shearer's blog and if possible read it very slowly when you're back in brum and take it all in bud:

"

England are probably not the most talented team at this World Cup. What we might lack in ability, we make up for with a superb team spirit and enormous character, and it is amazing how far that can take you.

As we saw on what was a memorable night for Gareth Southgate's side in Moscow on Tuesday, the difference between success and failure in football can come down to extremely fine margins.

The best teams do not always come out on top, but it is the ones with togetherness and belief that go on and achieve things at a tournament like this, and England have definitely shown their mettle there.

They overcame every setback they faced against the South Americans and everyone is so proud of them, especially because all the previous shootout failures we have had made things even harder.

There have probably been more gifted England squads at World Cups in recent years but, in terms of a unit, we might not have had a better group of players than this one.

That's part of what makes this team different - England are young, vibrant and exciting and have got a great attitude.

I am proud of what they have done so far in Russia, and I am looking forward to seeing what they do next.

It is brilliant to be at this stage of the World Cup and talking about the positives of an England performance and victory, rather than discussing the reasons for another early exit at a major finals.

What next? Well, anything is possible, but I am still reluctant to think beyond our quarter-final with Sweden, because this World Cup has been so ridiculously unpredictable until now.

But, whatever happens in Samara on Saturday, this tournament has already been a successful one from England's point of view.

We have won a knockout game for the first time since 2006, and also won our first ever World Cup penalty shootout.

Those are already real achievements for Gareth's young side to take away from Russia.

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