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WC2018 Day 20 – Nervous about tomorrow!

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 It’s almost as if
today doesn’t exist –
work will be perfunctory
tea breaks and coffee breaks
will take just that little bit longer
as that gnawing doubt/hope paradox
gets stronger and stronger;
suddenly everyone’s an expert –
should we stick with Sterling
or gamble with Lotus-Cheek?
Danny Rose – or Ashley Young?
Will the latter be too weak?
Will Vardy be fit enough
if required?
Will the big burly Swedes know
when they’ve been Harry Maguire’d?
And today’s two matches
won’t really matter
won’t be part of the chatter –
it’s as if we’ve looked into the future
liked what we’ve seen
then pulled back
put our heads down
steadfast in our resolve
not to get ahead of the game
nor to jinx
but to prepare right and to prepare well;
leave the jingoism to the press
and let today’s half of the draw self-determine;
let Brazil, Belgium, Uruguay, France play out
in this ungodly game of chance;
leave one there as the goal
as we attempt to reach
beyond boundaries
beyond the cages of constraint
to break the chains of 52 years of hurt
and to put ourselves somewhere
where only the titans of ‘66
have ever been

46

Notes

Friday 6th July 2018

as per the title – Nervous about tomorrow!

For the record:

Today’s Q-F matches:
Uruguay v France
Brazil v Belgium

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/wc2018-day-20-nervous-about-tomorrow/