England Wins the World Cup

What if England won the World Cup? Speaking hypothetically, imagine the scenes of jubilation from London to Newcastle, Liverpool to Norwich. Club rivalries would be put to one side to celebrate an achievement like no other. Whether you're rich or poor, white or black, it wouldn't matter, you'd be celebrating the biggest sporting achievement since Rocky defeated Drago. It'll be a feel good way to end the summer. First we had a Royal Wedding, then we'll have the World Cup trophy, and every member of the team will be knighted; arise Sir Raheem Sterling.

The majority of English fans, at least 97 percent, have written off England's chances saying the team isn't good enough, there are no world renowned stars in the team, and Harry Kane is a horrible choice as captain. These same English fans watch the FA Cup year in, year out hoping for cupsets and watching the underdogs reach quarter and semi finals, yet they don't think England can do the same.

The team is young, not a single player has won a World Cup game, but that's the beauty of it all. It increases the chances of a surprise. Teams won't be expecting England to pose a serious challenge allowing us to go under the radar. In previous tournaments, underdogs have made a mark on the world stage: Turkey and South Korea in 2002, and Ghana in 2010. Why can't England do it in 2018? None of those countries had recognisable stars. They had a team ethic and passion, desire, grit, determination, all of which are classic British traits. Fans on the terraces will cheer loudly when a player shows those traits on the pitch, so we know it's there, it's a case of showing it at the World Cup.

In typical English fashion, the team will scrape past Tunisia and Panama before being defeated by Belgium in the final group game. English fans and the media will undoubtedly have the “same old, same old” mentality as the team cannot thrash the minnows and lose to one of the major forces of world football; however, no matter how far we venture from reality, there is no hope for England to beat Belgium. The England squad just isn’t good enough to win 3 games in a row within 90 minutes. We’ll push Belgium close, but the Belgium squad is quite possibly the best group of players across the park to be assembled by any nation this year. It’s in line with Spain in 2010 and Germany in 2014, both of which won their respective World Cup’s.

Luckily, a somewhat favourable draw means England will play Colombia, Japan, Senegal, or Poland in the round of 16. All of which are beatable teams and any England fan would expect the Premier League players we have in our team to once again scrape through after some individual brilliance from one of our attacking options, more than likely it’ll be Marcus Rashford with his pace, trickery, and knack of doing something amazing, or at least trying to do something, on his first appearance on the grandest stage of them all.

I've completed several simulations and in each one England faces Germany in the quarter finals. The old nemesis; yin yang; the butter to our toast; however, this time England prevail. Germany has the better players, the more experienced manager, they have everything every English fan desires in their national team, and that is why we'll win. Guess what? I'll even go one step further. We'll win on penalties. Redemption.

The country will go wild. People will finally start to believe that it could happen. We've conquered the Germans in Russia, again, and now it's time to go for glory. Imagine England winning a penalty shoot out. The last time it happened was 22 years ago. Some of the squad weren't even born. These celebrations will be short-lived when the nation finds out who we’ll be playing in the semi finals, Lionel Messi’s Argentina.

Messi, the greatest footballer to have ever lived, one of those individuals that transcends the sport they play, has more natural ability in his left foot than the whole of England’s attack. As much as I hate to say it, football is a team game. You win as a team and you lose as a team, and if, IF Messi is stopped, then England will win. Argentina just about got through to the World Cup after a dismal qualifying campaign and have recently been thumped by Spain in a friendly. I don't expect England to win this at a canter, but I do expect a gritty game with several missed chances and defending more suited to 5-a-side football, where Harry Kane bullies the Argentinian backline and pushes England through to the final. The game will have to see Messi have the quietest game of his life with no goals and no assists, and a passing completion percentage of less than 40%. England wins, Messi is defeated, the nation thinks it’s dreaming, club rivalries, political rivalries, Brexit rivalries are all put to one side as England gears up for its biggest game of the century.

The other semi will see Brazil go up against Cristiano Ronaldo. Only one winner on this stage, Brazil. July 15, World Cup Final, Brazil v England, the stage is set. The English media stops all coverage of any other programmes with both BBC and ITV showing 48 hours of English football highlights with interviews and insights from past and present footballers, including England’s golden generation of Beckham, Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, and Scholes. At 4pm, all shops will be closed, every single person will be near a TV to watch the England team have the game of their lives.

England manager, Southgate, decides to gamble by playing Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, and Marcus Rashford. He knows it’s all or nothing, one game to rule them all. This is Southgate’s redemption after missing a penalty costing England a place in the Euro 96 final. Brazil has their quartet of Neymar, Coutinho, Jesus, and Firmino, but their defence is almost non-existent with swashbuckling full-backs and typical Brazilian flair and flamboyance.

This will feel like the longest 45 minutes of every English fans life. The nation will hold its breath with every misplaced pass, every Brazil shot that goes wide, and every time someone decides to run at Gary Cahill. By a miracle, England will just about make it to half-time still in the game with the score being 0-0. If it was a boxing match, the referee would’ve halted proceedings as England would’ve had two black eyes, a broken nose, and a split tongue, but this is football. This is football.

Southgate gives a team talk for the ages. Each man is spoken to individually, each being told they are better than their opposite number. Some of them won’t believe a word he says, but one man, one man will understand the message and understand what he has to do in the second half. Unfortunately for him, he’s sitting on the bench and has to wait for Southgate to bring him on. The team talk finishes with Southgate and his staff belting “God Save the Queen” as the players step out of the dressing room, with Jordan Pickford high-fiving every single player and screaming at Eric Dier to take out Neymar by hook or by crook.

The second half goes by at an alarming pace. A cagey, cagey second half, neither team wanting to make a mistake and lose the biggest game these players will ever play. Southgate brings on Lingard and Loftus-Cheek, but their impact is minimal and they’re also lacking the touch and quality needed to win this game. 80 minutes gone, 0-0, Southgate rolls his final dice and brings on Raheem Sterling. The FA had to defend Sterling before the start of the World Cup due to a controversial tattoo; typical England preparation with off-field antics taking centre stage.

Brazil controls the last 10 minutes as England is camped within the 18 yard box, but in the 92nd minute, England resorts back to grassroots football as Ashley Young puts his laces through a loose ball and sets Sterling away. With the whole of the Brazil squad inside England’s half, Sterling is onside and only has the goalkeeper to beat. Every English person is now on the edge of their seat as they await what they hope is the goal to win them the World Cup. Sterling runs and runs and runs, almost in slow motion as he makes his way towards the Brazilian goal, and shows how much he’s learned from Pep Guardiola at Man City as he rounds the keeper.

An open goal, all he has to do is shoot and he’ll score; however, this is Raheem Sterling and this is England. This is England. The ball bobbles just before Sterling shoots causing him to hit it with his shin. The ball hits the post, bounces back and hits the Brazilian keeper, before slowly rolling over the line. Marcelo somehow manages to catch up with play and tries to clear the ball. The referee blows his whistle and points to his watch and the centre circle. Brazilian fans are crying, English fans are crying, some of the tears will be from laughter, as England is leading 1-0 in the World Cup final thanks to a fluke goal.

Brazil kicks off and the referee immediately blows the whistle. England has won the World Cup. England, world champions 2018. A crazy ending to a crazy game.