John Sturgis

We still believe: Could England win Qatar 2022?

(Getty images)

Here’s a two-pointer pub quiz question: who was Bunny Austin and when, where and why did you hear his name mentioned annually until 2012?

The brilliantly-named Bunny was, for an agonising 74 years of hurt, the last Briton to reach the final of the men’s singles at Wimbledon. He didn’t actually win it in 1938, like the better known Fred Perry had three times earlier in that decade. But his name came up in commentary and sports reports without fail every year for decades, in late June or early July, whenever the last Brit was knocked out or, on heady occasions, when one reached the quarters or even semis. Tim Henman must curse his name to this day.

The reason he fell out of the national conversation was that in 2012 Andy Murray finally broke the hoodoo and won a semi-final, consigning Bunny from annual fame to indefinite pub quiz obscurity.

Having achieved this, however, Murray, just like his thirties predecessor had, fell short in his final, losing to Roger Federer. But unlike Bunny that wasn’t the end for the cheery Scot in SW19. He came back to actually win the thing the following year. And again in 2016.

Sometimes losing a final can be a staging post to reaching the next one – and winning it

Why do I mention all this? Well because I think there could be a parallel to be drawn with what happened at Wembley last night.

Everywhere I see people looking utterly crushed by England’s defeat today. We blew it. We came so close etc. But if you separate out what may very well be the symptoms of an epic hangover that is afflicting you from your wider and more permanent sense of perspective, you may see that there are reasons for extraordinary optimism regarding the England football team and its future.

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