The agonising climax to Saturday’s men’s Champions League final in Budapest will haunt Arsenal supporters for years. Penalty shootouts, a brutal way to lose, turned hope to despair in an instant. The England men’s team, once familiar with such pain, famously used a psychologist to address players’ nerves under Gareth Southgate.
A triumphant Sunday parade allowed Premier League champions to reflect on their achievements. The Arsenal women’s team bus was present, celebrated for winning the inaugural Fifa Women’s Champions Cup and reaching the Uefa Champions League semi-final. They remain the only English women’s team to have won the latter.
In a gripping season, Scotland’s most dramatic title race for 40 years saw Hearts come within minutes of a first championship since 1960, challenging the Rangers-Celtic duopoly. In England, Aston Villa won their first European trophy since the 1980s, and Crystal Palace their first ever, in the Uefa Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig.
Now, England and Scotland prepare for the World Cup. Both nations last competed in 1998, when England lost on penalties to Argentina and Scotland failed to progress from the group stage. An expanded 48-team tournament offers Scotland a better chance of a first knockout tie. England, seeded fourth after a strong qualifying campaign, may have a navigable route to the semi-finals.
After a club season where underdogs shone, fans can dare to dream. The “30 years of hurt” for England have doubled to 60, but hope is renewed.
