On Saturday evening their under-21 colleagues played Romania with nine black players in white shirts at the kick-off. As we saw in last year’s spectacular tournament wins by age-group teams, black players are now a fundamental part of the nation’s hopes for the future. There was trouble in Dortmund 12 months ago when England played Germany, and in Amsterdam around 100 English fans were arrested following exchanges with the Dutch police. All of which makes you wonder what goes through their heads when they watch the present-day England football teams. In a radical reversal of the position of 30 years ago, England’s football teams are now running ahead of the people they represent.

Source: The Irish Times March 26, 2018 15:22 UTC