‘I couldn’t stop the thought of watching England in the third place play-off’

Henry Winter’s World Cup Diary, Day 34

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Jersey/Miami
Confession. I was in a foul mood when England lost to Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday, and like everyone who has recently been annoyed by Thomas Tuchel’s second-half performance, I quickly changed plans and headed back up north to New York/New Jersey for the World Cup final. I couldn’t stomach the thought of watching England in the third place play-off against France. Miami is doomed.

Who wants to close the shame game? Who wants to sweep the ashes of England’s occupation of North America after drowning. Or rather Tuchel had ruined their hopes of reaching the final with his confusing decisions. The missed opportunities are few worse than England’s heartbreaking first World Cup finals collapse in 60 years.

So I hurriedly left, packed my problems into an old, kitsch bag, and caught a flight to New Jersey on Thursday evening. When I woke up, still in a bad mood, but looking up at the Manhattan skyline, I came to my senses and realized that I had to go to Miami and, first of all, listen to Tuchel’s explanations. Like many people who suffer, I needed closure.

So, back to Newark, a three-hour flight to Fort Lauderdale and a taxi to the stadium. Tuchel finally arrived but little said it helped to understand or ease the suffering. I shook off the despondency I should only have had when listening to John Stones, who could be forgiven for thinking that his England tour might begin and end with frustration in Florida. Stones was on the waiting list for the 2014 World Cup, went out to Miami, took part in England training and was sent home by Roy Hodgson.

The defender was adamant that his career does not end here in the Sunshine State. Stones, 32, was adamant that he would continue to play for England. But he was clearly in pain. The rocks are successful, rich, and completely destroyed. He remembered with a little noise, a static sound of how he was trying to pull himself together after Wednesday. “It was a blur”, said Stones. It was about him reassessing the “situations in my head”, especially how he could take “different positions”. The thought went from there to his own place for Lionel Messi’s cross which he cleared and was met by Lautaro Martinez for Argentina’s winner. “It’s a difficult thing to digest or let go of. We as players can get used to anger or frustration, our personal situations. We are quick to forget how proud I am of everyone in our camp, in our team, the effort and sacrifices we make to get us to this point, the love, belief and support from home, the fans on the field. All the most memorable memories are on the field.”

The stones were quiet, still sad. “It’s our nature as humans to take things in a strange way and that’s why we always strive to win. We all had the same belief that we could win. Leaving the semi-finals is very painful because we believed so much.” The room, which was actually the Miami Dolphins locker room, is filled with sympathy for Stones. We wish him luck on his 95th birthday today. We can feel better about England because the players really care.

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Has there ever been a greater footballer in France than Didier Deschamps? It used to be Michel Platini but he had a rough patch or two. Zinedine Zidane won the World Cup with Deschamps in 1998, enjoyed the club’s career, managed Real Madrid to three Champions League titles and now succeeds Deschamps as France’s head coach. But Deschamps made the World Cup twice, as a player and manager (2018) which makes him the most important person in the history of French football.

He stood down after today’s third-place play-off against England. Deschamps was given a little grilling at a press conference yesterday by the French media. The semi-final loss to Spain continues to garner much debate, especially as France were favorites throughout the tournament.

The respect with which Deschamps is held in football was expressed loudly by Thomas Tuchel yesterday. “Unbelievable personality, unbelievable coach,” said the England coach of the team that will be in the neighboring dugout this afternoon. “He won everything as a player, he won everything as a coach of the national team. His personality is humble, he is a modest person, it is always a pleasure to see him, it is always a pleasure to meet him in football. He is incredibly respectful and there is nothing but the highest, highest respect.” Beautiful words. Deschamps deserves all the credit he gets.

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“GIVE”, “BELIEVE”, “GRACE” and “ENCOURAGEMENT”. These are some of the features aimed at children who go to the playground in Terminal A at Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey. There are no pictures of Peppa Pig smiling. This was the locker room of an ambitious college team. It’s all competitive and challenging basically with a few slides and a soft spot to fall on. These big names are inscribed in the “New Jersey Hall of Fame” that runs through the small area of ​​bleachers and slides and swings. The route is celebrated by local heroes such as athlete Carl Lewis, who lived in Willingborough, New Jersey; gridiron star Eli Manning, who played for the New York Giants in East Rutherford where Sunday’s World Cup final is being played; and American football coach Vince Lombardi, who cut his coaching teeth in college in New Jersey. There is no pressure on the children.

Check out Henry Winter’s entire World Cup Diary here