How my England odyssey ended up at another World Cup semi-final | Philip Cornwall

Inspired by the exploits of Bobby Robson’s team at Italia 90, a journey at times painful has led back to those heights

Sport makes fools of us all – though sometimes in the best of ways. Russia 2018 was supposed to be the first major tournament in Europe I had missed since failing to go to Italia 90, but Gareth Southgate had other ideas.

I was there at Euro 96 when he did not “just belt it, son” against Germany, as his mother put it, so I have seen England go out on penalties in a tournament’s last four. But an odyssey inspired by one World Cup semi-final will finally lead to another, provided my flights get me to Moscow on time on Wednesday afternoon. There have been some wonderful highs along the way – my biggest regrets are the matches I missed – yet it has undeniably been a torturous wait.

Continue reading...