Football Poets

Italy semi finally conquered

¶ 1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Oh England why do you keep
Doing this over and over again?
Here we were on tenterhooks
Nerves shattered, battered
Clinging on for dear life
Taken to the edge
With the finest wedge
All so dramatic,
Then unbearably traumatic
We could hardly watch
Since this was problematic
But the girls have done it again
You took us to the places
Among familiar faces
We never thought we were beaten
Ten out of ten
Deep into the bowels
Where there can be no vowels
Italy beaten by England
Now that’s a sentence
We’ve been longing to utter
Like a knife through butter
Since the men were beaten
In Euros Final of recent vintage
England then at their
Lowest voltage
But the ladies are back
In yet another throne room
Where triumphs may loom
Where crowns of European trophies
Are fittingly placed
On victorious heads
No time for early nights
And beds
England girls it could be
Your turn again
Prepared to be bestowed
With resplendent gifts
No more tiffs
With those who have questioned
Your right to be there, here
Right now
Wipe that fevered brow
Become European queens
Italy, straining with every limb
With every pass, tackle, shot
Ankle and shin
At times you were reminded
Of the men at Wembley
A couple of years ago
When it all went against
The tide and natural flow
Then an early lead
Sitting comfortably
On the shoulder of giants
Far too good for those
Neapolitan warriors
Then the second half imploded
Then completely exploded
Gareth’s heart sunk like a stone
Dejection and hopes flown
Italy shrewder and savvier
On the night
Mancini gets his
Second half psychology
Absolutely right
And yet it felt so much better
Revenge tasted infinitely sweeter
Perhaps the elusive Cornetto
No more falsetto
Girls you left it far
Too late
But better that than
Ever
Lucy, Beth, Georgia,
Chloe
And then underneath
The Greenwood tree
Alex, you were there
And delivered and presented
Preened and proper
Aggie, like the
Brightest bulb
Shining, wining and dining
At the most bountiful banquet
Gorging on scraps
No time for naps
On that night of all nights
Then tough, rough
Resourceful when it mattered
No longer tattered
Leah Williamson
So controlling and holding
Giving and going
Productive and destructive
Cool and composed
In the boiler room
And finally Ella
She gave us
The most appropriate Toone
For so long though
It seemed that the country
Who produced such
The ultimate operatic aura
Boticelli and Rossini
With shades of genius
For all to see
Now though Barbara Bonansea
Gave the girls of Italy
A shot in the arm
Against all conceivable odds
Italy in front
But England certainly not gone
Sarina, like a flying Dutchwoman
Surveys her female empire
England, never daunted just vaunted
Winners, when the sinners
Thought they’d transgressed
But we were blessed
Last night with Michelle
Agyemang, wrenched England
From the dankest. bleakest
Dungeon of defeat
And then with seconds to go
Chloe Kelly stepped up
And then seemingly stopped
On teetering toes
Kelly’s eye not in vision
Penalty missed
Driven firmly to the keeper’s
Grateful torso
But then Kelly side footed home
With the sharpest anticipation
The winning goal
It’s Spain or Germany
In the Euro 2025 Final
We couldn’t have foreseen this
Could it be the Germans?
Now there’s history in the making
Two Final victories
In quick succession
It’s OK men
You’re forgiven
As long as you
Can replicate the
Ladies heroic feats
In American, Mexican
And Canadian World Cup
Extravaganzas
Next year
It’s time to bury
What will be 60 years
Of pain and humiliation
But the English girls
Get the job done
If only just

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