:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60297281/993383946.jpg.0.jpg)
It’s happened. England has progressed to the semifinals of the World Cup. My friends across the pond are celebrating and I am happy for them. The usually pessimistic English are truly starting to believe that the three lions have what it takes to lift the trophy.
I am probably going to get a lot of angry comments for this, but I personally find it hard to root for England. Perhaps if I myself were English I wouldn’t feel this way. Instead, I am a New York-based Arsenal supporter. Maybe I’m bitter that the United States didn’t qualify for the tournament. I wish it was that. The truth is that I simply cannot root for a team full of Tottenham players.
Harry Kane has had a tremendous tournament and his teammate Dele Alli scored the crucial second goal against Sweden. I’ll give them that. However, when asked “what do you think of Tottenham?” I know what my answer is. I am not a fan.
It doesn’t stop there. Manchester United players Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Jesse Lingard have all featured in the tournament. I don’t see England players. Instead I see the enemy with Jose Mourinho cheering them on from the sidelines.
On defense you have Manchester City’s Kyle Walker. It’s bad enough that he plays for Sheikh Mansour’s side, but he was formerly a member of Spurs. How can I possibly support him?
Others that I just can’t cheer for include Chelsea defender Gary Cahill and forwards Raheem Sterling and Jamie Vardy.
I am sure that there are many people that feel the same way that I do. I love England and have many friends there. However, I just can’t change the way I feel about the country’s national team.
To be fair, I have been impressed with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. He has looked very poised and is making a name for himself. It’s also nice to see, Harry Maguire take advantage of the chance he’s been given.
If England do make it to the final, I will support Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck. Hopefully he’ll come on to score the winner and steal the spotlight from all the Spurs players.