Euro 2022

[Richard Thursby]

Congratulations England on winning Euro 2022.

[David Sedgwick]

Congratulations England on winning Euro 2022.

After being thwarted last year, I now announce the formation of the Two Finals Club.

Eligibility: You have to have been watching on live television (or at the venue) on two occasions when an England team won the final of a Major Championship (World or European) at Wembley Stadium after extra time.

[Mike Gunn]

I hereby apply for membership.

[Richard Thursby]

Will be interesting if there are any members of the six finals club (1966, 2003, 2010, 2017, 2019, 2022). Those with better/longer memories may be able to extend that list.

[David Sedgwick]

I hereby apply for membership.

I am pleased to approve your application.

[David Sedgwick]

Will be interesting if there are any members of the six finals club (1966, 2003, 2010, 2017, 2019, 2022). Those with better/longer memories may be able to extend that list.

In 2019 I formed a Three Cups Club relating to 1966, 2003 and 2019.

The events have to be England victories, so 2010 must be disallowed.

However, I can certainly lay claim to 2017. I was there.

[J T Melsom]

i can't join David's club as I wasn't around in 66. Given the likelihood of eligible membership being predominantly White male and of a certain age, I thought this demographic was sufficiently well served by membership of the Conservative Party. Tonight is a celebration of a more diverse group and may that success continue and be built upon.

[J T Melsom]

And some of us were watching England play Germany long before it was fashionable. Photos from a Twitter account https://twitter.com/StevePeart_/status/ ... YALfg&s=19
Wycombe hosted a number of other internationals last century when many other clubs weren't interested.

[David Sedgwick]

... I thought this demographic was sufficiently well served by membership of the Conservative Party.

People like Mike Gunn, perhaps.

For what it's worth, I have been celebrating another sporting success this evening. Gambia's defeat of St Kitts-Nevis at the Commonwealth Games Beach Volleyball.

[J T Melsom]

Celebrating an inclusive national triumph by forming an exclusive club rather misses the point. None of the players are eligible for the club either.

[Kevin Thurlow]

A weird day, we've already had Harold Pinter, now we have James Joyce.

Glorious victory for the England team, I don't think it's wrong to celebrate victories.

[Richard Thursby]

The events have to be England victories, so 2010 must be disallowed.

I concede your point; four of the five players who batted in the final were born outside the UK.

[J T Melsom]

Pinter and Joyce references a bit too obscure for me. Joyce was Irish and died before any of the events in this thread. Did Pinter have much to say about the 66 triumph?

[David Sedgwick]

The events have to be England victories, so 2010 must be disallowed.

I concede your point; four of the five players who batted in the final were born outside the UK.

We are at cross purposes. I thought that you were referring to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Wome ... _Cup#Final.

However. https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/icc ... -scorecard must also be disallowed, as the match didn't take place in England.

[Paul Habershon]

I am old enough to be in the scarcely exclusive 1966/2022 club. Immediately after the 1966 match my father went to the village post office (yes, open on a Saturday afternoon) and bought a large sheet of World Cup stamps with 'England Winners' printed thereon. I still have this sheet and it's worth hardly anything.

Good result yesterday, but I didn't like the England 'corner-flagging' towards the end of extra time. 'Professional' but not a good look. The referee should add more minutes.

I hadn't realised that the scorer of the winning goal, Kelly, had been booked for shirt removal, though I was fairly sure it happens with male players. The Times today celebrates what she did, giving the photo prominence on the front of the wrap-around pages. It was compared with a similar 'iconic' American photo from the 1999 World Cup. No mention is made of the booking, but surely Kelly was risking the team being reduced to ten if she received a second yellow card.

My other thought is whether there are any stats for women taking penalties. I know they can strike pretty powerfully but presumably not as strongly as the men. Do they have more failures? Or perhaps the female goalkeepers are not as strong when it comes to beating a ball away with their arms or hands, so the comparative results even out.