Knowing England’s luck we’ll win this depressing incarnation of the World Cup

Nine years ago the then new chairman of the Football Association, Greg Dyke, spoke of his aims for England’s men’s football team. “I want to set the whole of English football two targets,” he said. “The first is for the England team to at least reach the semi-finals of the Euro Championship in 2020 and the second is for us to win the World Cup in 2022.”

So far better than expected then – but one big step to come, win the blood-soaked, tainted World Cup in Qatar. It always seemed a ridiculous target on which to base any long-term success of the FA – get a dodgy decision in the semi-final and decades-old plans turn to dust.

It’s a quote that’s followed Dyke around for years, and to be fair to him it was part of a plan to focus the minds of everyone in the game about the paucity of English talent playing in the top flight. Of course, trying to win the World Cup seems like a really good idea. In practice, history tells us that it’s slightly trickier. There are other countries in the world where football is quite popular, who also would like to win the World Cup, with teams who have excellent players – who, again, would also like to win the World Cup.

But however glaringly obvious that is, there are still those, perhaps blinded by the quality of the Premier League (without noticing the nationalities of most of the best players), who expect so much of England each time around.

It’s this kind of madness that prompts people to write in capital letters when you try to point out that Gareth Southgate is the second-most successful manager in the side’s history. YOU CALL LOSING A FINAL SUCCESS? THAT IS THIS COUNTRY’S PROBLEM ALL OVER.

As with previous England managers, it feels as if there is no middle ground – you either back him