World Cup: I am absolutely convinced that England will win

Boys, girls … huddle together. I'm going to whisper something calm, and you must promise not to say anything to a soul.

Football – he comes home.

That made a change because the heartbreak of the World Cup is all that I've ever known. When I was 10, England did not even qualify for the 1994 tournament. And after a string of humiliations – losing a soul-destroying shootout in Argentina in 1998, having been eliminated from the 2002 competition because of Ronaldinho's shock of 35 meters, then a crushing defeat in shooting in Portugal in 2006, I learned to stop hoping.

We could not count on England.

We could not count on them during the disastrous campaign of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and we could not even count on them to win in 2014. For the Three Lions, it was as if each World Cup team was looking to outdo the other when it was to bring complete shame to the nation.

But this summer, something is different. And I do not mind admitting here, right now … I fell in love with the England team – and I fell harder than ever before.

This is the kind of puppy and gooey love you get at age 14 when you are told that the badiest girl in school wants to go out with you. So you invite him to your home while your parents are out. You make mixtapes recording the best songs of the Top-40 on the BBC radio every Sunday. You write hip-hop poetry, you learn to play a riff on the guitar, and you start lifting weights.

Then the big day arrives.

Your room is clean for the first time in months, you've emptied a whole can of Lynx: Atlantis all over your pits, and you've thrown a load of Brylcreem on your barnet for you to get that shiny look that Leonardo di Caprio rocked when he was all-matched in "Titanic". Today, she should be here now, so you wait and look through the blinds of your room, trying to scan the road just to see if her father's car is rolling around the corner to drop it. .

Only this puppy love with the 2018 England team is all about Spotify playlists rather than mixtapes. He takes a WhatsApp voicemail message from a former clbadmate who rapps John Barnes' bars of "World In Motion" on the phone. It is the manager of England Gareth Southgate's vests become a national obsession . It scrolls through your Twitter calendar in search of the best memes "It's Coming Home". It's Russian President Vladimir Putin who plays "Three Lions (Football & Coming Home)" on a piano.

Guys, girls … I am in depth. England is hot. They are relatable, recognizable, and there is a very human connection between the team and the fans that has not seemed to exist for decades. They are one of us.

Marcus Rashford, the fleet striker, was one of us when he did not know what to say when he met Neymar in the Wembley Stadium Tunnel. He just mumbled embarrbading English words on "good weather". Top scorer of the World Cup, Harry Kane is one of us because he likes to sit down and play "Fortnite" video game when he does not train, or is preparing for an international match. And Jamie Vardy giving James Corden a well-trained death gaze, that's when we try to pretend that they're not watching Love Island.

Southgate brings home football

Gareth Southgate, who has always been "destined" to be the manager of the national team according to the CEO of football, has hired him twice in development roles in English. Football Federation (FA).

Former FA boss Alex Horne told Business Insider last year that "Gareth was still brilliant in managing the under-21 team" and that he was "in charge." he always admired the courage of the coach.

Players seem to find an echo with Southgate because it's about a very modern young manager. He is meticulous in his thinking, clearly does his homework, and implements winning strategies on the training ground that players have managed to transfer to the bigger stages – the World Cup.

Up to now, Southgate and his team of Three Lions have already developed a hero status. They scored a goal in the 91st minute in the first group match against Tunisia. They have indeed won a World Cup penalty shootout for the first time in the country's history, eliminating Colombia from penalty kicks on Tuesday. And, in Kane, England has the best scorer of the World Cup.

This team has a bottle, it can hold its own, and it finds a way to win, no matter how ugly it is. And these are things that teams in England have not had, as a unit, for a long time.

I thought I would never do that, not after all the heartbreaks that preceded me. But it's different, surely. Against my best judgment, I am now quite confident that England will win the World Cup.

Earlier this week, Gareth Southgate told FIFA TV that he was "a proud Englishman" and that it was "alright that in the last few weeks we have been able to make people happy".

Adding to ITV, he said: "It's a huge privilege to be able to send everyone to work happy, to make a difference in people's lives." Football, sport, can bring connection for a country. I'm delighted that we are exciting people and that we bring pleasure and we want to continue playing this game. We are still the youngest team of the tournament and we are the least experienced but we are hungry and want to go as far as possible. "

Gareth, you did more than make people happy – you made us dream and believe you'll all succeed.

Now bring football back home.