England’s Euro 2020: Fans’ frenzy may come before a fall

England’s Euro 2020 last-16 2-0 victory over Germany has been met with a hysteria that some might see as exaggerated for a team that has only qualified for the quarterfinals.

In a sense, that would be a fair assessment as the English do tend to hype their teams up more than many nations in the world, especially in relation to the falling flat on their face that usually follows.

If England loses to Ukraine in the quarterfinals, for example (and while they will be heavy favourites, ironically that probably makes it more likely they will lose), the win over Germany will be little more than a statistic.

Then again, England had not beaten their traditional rival Germany in a knockout match at a major tournament since 1966, when they went on to win the World Cup.

And England does have some of the traits of a tournament-winning side – a level-headed coach, who shouldn’t get too carried away with this win; a defence that has yet to concede a goal; and a strong squad that means tiredness in the latter stages of the competition should not be an issue.

So perhaps we should cut England fans a little slack, if they are getting over-excited.

And, in any case, for those who hate England, it will make laughing at them, if they fail, all the sweeter.

Now read: Germans go to Wembley to try to upset England at Euro 2020