World Cup Dreams

After Extra Time

It feels like my heart has been ripped from my chest such is the emotion inside the stadium. My limbs ache and barely support my frame. One nil is a bad enough scoreline to lose by but losing in extra time makes it so much harder to bare. So close, yet so far, as the saying goes. We were not expected to win, we were not even expected to get this far but the monumental effort we put in had given us dreams beyond anyone’s expectations. One step from the biggest match of our lives, one step from the World Cup final.

It is as if we have lost some great battle, troops sitting on the floor through exhaustion, players and fans alike crying. It may have been easier to accept had we been thrashed. I shake hands with the opposition as I meander between our languid players. In truth I would rather be sick and it makes me feel worse that opposing players wave flags and clutch their sons and daughters from the crowd to celebrate with them. It is a strange atmosphere, like someone has got a great blade and cut it down the centre of the stadium. One half joyous delight, the other only half full of desolate individuals. How I wish our side was the joyous one.

Somehow I feel robbed in this situation even though we came up slightly short. I think it is being used to club football, in the league you get the draw after ninety minutes and gain a point and in the cup you at least have a chance to go again before experiencing extra time. The only consolation is that we did not make it to penalties as that, I can only imagine, would be ten times worse.

I look at my team again, most are young, twenty-two or younger, this is their first World Cup, the first time they have tasted such bitter defeat. It will hurt for some time but will also be a pivotal moment in their careers. If they can harness their feelings and use them to improve they will be great plays. If they allow this moment to torment their every thought then the game is over for them. Like some relative dying, they will need to mourn for a few days then put it all behind them. That is where people like myself come in, the old guard, the experienced head. I will see each player individually tonight, put an arm around him and tell him how amazingly he has played. I will let each know that this was not our time but it will come, even though this is a false promise it is the belief that will keep them going. If that does not work then the crowds back home who will welcome us should lift their spirits and renew their faith in football. For we must remember one thing, we have gotten to the semi-final of the World Cup, even if we lose the next game we are still one of the top four teams in the World and at the start of this World Cup that was unimaginable.