English Hearts Racing After Life Sentence

With greater Sydney in lock-down, the many work-from-home metropolitan sporting fans will understandably be preoccupied until after 8am on Monday morning. Strictly speaking, despite getting hearts racing it has nothing to do with racing. As much as we may love to get one over the Poms in the Ashes, on Monday morning at 5.00am AET, England gets to play in its first major soccer final for 55 years after winning the 1966 World Cup final 4 -2 when Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick. This time, in the final of the Euro Cup after defeating Denmark in the semi-final, they face a rampant Italy, with the current Azzuri team boasting a phenomenal streak of not having lost an international in 33 matches. Whether one subscribes or not to the theory that we support two teams – Australia or anyone that plays England – after serving a virtual life-sentence in the wilderness it’d be unsporting to wish the Three Lions, marginal favourites in front of their home crowd at Wembley, anything but good luck.