English football fans generally love a plucky underdog, from craving huge upsets in the FA Cup to getting behind Wales at Euro 2016. However, for a team so frequently underwhelming it is unsettling how infrequently England are considered an underdog. Rather, England contrive to find a way to exit the tournament before they have to play anyone too good. While it has spared us from quivering through a 7-1 pasting in a World Cup semi-final, it does leave us with a quandary over who to throw our slightly patronising underdog support behind. It is fair to say that nobody thought Russia would ever be a leading candidate to qualify for that role.

In fact, most people thought Russia wouldn’t even qualify from their group. When that group contains Saudi Arabia and an Egypt side who are apparently worse than Saudi Arabia, it’s not a glowing endorsement of the squad’s quality. Andrei Kanchelskis knows a thing or two about quality football, having played against some top sides when at Manchester United. The former Russia star considered this particular collection of misfits to be the worst Russian national side that he has seen in his lifetime. That’s not exactly what you want to hear when you’re about to grace the biggest sporting stage in front of your entire population, especially when your population is that vast.

Maybe the Russian coach, Stanislav Cherchesov, pinned Kanchelskis’ words on the dressing room wall to inspire his players. Paul Hurst stuck a predicted league table on Shrewsbury’s dressing room wall with the caption ‘we are rubbish’ underneath reflecting how critics deemed relegation inevitable. It worked for Hurst, so well that he landed the biggest job in football at Ipswich Town. Cherchesov may have to settle for winning the World Cup instead; Russia’s surprising run to the knockout stages saw them vanquish the mighty Spaniards (on penalties), although Betfair betting tips still place Russia behind a plethora of teams at odds of 22/1 to lift the trophy. Expectations have been defied, they scored five goals in one game and they’ve beaten Spain, yet still, they are unfancied: there’s your plucky underdog.

They are not without their characters in the squad. Football Manager legend Igor Akinfeev has become a target for derision since he palmed a ball into his own net in the last World Cup, earning the heartfelt sympathy of Rob Green. Yet, Akinfeev is showing why we shouldn’t judge someone on one World Cup, with his penalty shootout saves against Spain a testament to his resolve and skill. Sergei Ignashevich may be older than time itself and have the turning circle of a tree, but his return from international retirement is a feel-good story. Up front, Artem Dzyuba is the archetypal striker with ‘good feet for a big man’, while Aleksandr Golovin looks set to be the next Andrey Arshavin.

Perhaps the best story about Russia’s campaign so far comes in the shape of backup centre-back Vladimir Granat. In a game where Spain’s impotent passing for the sake of passing infuriated all of the footballing fans out there who enjoy it when teams move forward with purpose, Granat taught the world a footballing lesson. Granat came on to play an hour of football, in which he attempted four passes and completed zero. His performance was so steadfastly anti-Spain, as if he had been given tactical instructions by Gandalf before entering the fray. Yet they did not concede a goal while Granat was on the pitch, so there are some lessons here for budding superstars. Russia are very much the underdog, but they have embraced this status and cannot be ruled out.

On 12th June, Ipswich Town officially unveiled Paul Hurst as the new manager of the club. He comes in having taken over at Shrewsbury Town in late October, 2016 when Shrewsbury sat rock bottom of League One. Hurst pulled Shrewsbury up to 18th to stave off relegation and then rocketed the club to third last season, just missing out on promotion in the League One play-off final.

As part of his first press conference as the Ipswich boss, Hurst detailed a steady pace to the summer of transfers due to the international tournaments, stating that “the situation might be a slow burner,” per Ipswich Town. But, just a couple of weeks on, Town have revealed their first new signing under Hurst, Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah on a season-long loan.

The experienced teen

Born in Sierra Leone of English nationality, Trevor Chalobah possesses size, strength, and is very comfortable with the ball at his feet. Last summer, Chalobah was part of the England team that also featured Town’s Andre Dozzell and won the Under-19s European Championships. He also impressed for Chelsea, featuring prominently in the club’s run to the UEFA Youth League final.

Chalobah will help to fill the gaps left by last season’s loanees in Callum Connolly from Everton and Cameron Carter-Vickers of Tottenham Hotspur while also bringing some versatility to the team. Chalobah’s touch, passing, and vision are strong, and he can play just in front of the defence as part of the midfield or as a centre back.
A dark horse with Hurst in charge

Paul Hurt’s appointment was never expected to loosen the purse strings at Ipswich Town. One of the admirable traits of the new boss is that he built Shrewsbury into being play-off finalists without spending very much at all. In his first full season in charge at Shrewsbury, Hurst brought in a total of eight players on loan as well as 11 players on permanent deals.

However, in the Championship, Hurst will have to contend with former Premier League clubs that have a spending power that’s far superior to that of Ipswich Town. The most recently relegated Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion are favourites with the bookies to win the Championship and achieve promotion largely because of their larger budget.

That’s not to say that Paul Hurst can’t improve Ipswich’s standing with some more shrewd signings. Last season, Shrewsbury were at very long odds to even make it to the play-offs, let alone finish in the top three. In fact, they were one of the early relegation favourites in the odds.

It’s because of Hurst’s ability to get the best out of his players and bring in players of real quality to bolster his squad in key areas that there are embers of hope that he can turn Ipswich Town into a Premiership team again. This has translated into fans using their betting offers at bookies like Betfred to back Ipswich to achieve promotion this season.

The rumour mill is turning

The club has been linked to a number of exciting players and, if the moves are completed, they will certainly improve Hurst’s squad. The team is said to have bid for centre-back Curtis Tilt of Blackpool, and are also after the soon-to-be free agent Kane Vincent-Young – a full-back who can also play as a winger. Middlesbrough’s signing from Oxford United last summer, Marvin Johnson, is also rumoured to be in Ipswich’s crosshairs, especially as Boro have reportedly accepted that they’ll make a loss on his £3 million fee from a year ago.

Ipswich will most certainly be making a few more loan signings before the summer window closes, but what might be most exciting is the young players raring to break into the first team. Australian 19-year-old Ben Folami enjoyed a taste of first-team action at the end of last season and could fill a need on the right-wing. There are also the young talents of Tristan Nydam and Andre Dozzell who could push for a more prominent role under Hurst.

It’s an exciting time in Ipswich Town, and while Paul Hurst says that it’ll be a slow burner summer, he’s expected to bring in some solid players to bolster the squad who may even help to lead the Portman Road residents towards the promotion places.

England’s opening encounter at the World Cup featured all of the classic components of an England performance. The match with Tunisia began with the kind of attacking verve and movement that made spectators question whether this team in red were a bunch of Spaniards masquerading as Englishmen, before the subsequent 70 minutes had that reassuring sense of impending doom and overwhelming disappointment.

Yet, this familiar tale had a twist ending, with Harry Kane’s late winner stunning a nation that had already made a cup of tea to handle the despair of an underwhelming draw. Presumably, not even Kane can continue to save the day, so this is why it is useful for England fans to have contingencies in place in preparation for the inevitable heartbreak. Clearly, it is prudent to not get carried away but, perhaps, England fans should have alternative nations to support in place of the Three Lions so to maintain interest in the tournament.

Football’s coming home?

After such a magnificently gripping event like the Royal Wedding, you could have been forgiven for thinking that this would be as good as it gets for England in 2018. Yet, The Guardian reported that, for some reason, an average audience of 13.7 million tuned in for England’s match against Tunisia, making it the most popular televisual affair in the country so far this year. That is 13.7 million who just cannot grasp the concept that England will take your hope and crush it beyond any semblance of recognition. The 30 years of hurt expressed by Baddiel, Skinner and the Lightning Seeds (ranked as the nation’s greatest World Cup anthem) have become 52 years of hurt, meaning that the hurt has lived five years longer than Gareth Southgate. Quite whether that hurt began immediately after England lifted the World Cup in 1966 is up for debate but the overriding point stands that it has been an awfully long time since English fans enjoyed anything.

Fans would get criticised for supporting Manchester United even if they have always lived within a mile of Portman Road all of their life. The same sentiment translates to international football, perhaps even more fiercely. English people should always support England when international football comes around, if only because there is nothing that brings a nation together quite like collective disappointment. However, if there is an acceptance that England will ultimately break our hearts, it seems like common sense to have a Plan B to remain emotionally invested in the World Cup.

Dig out the family tree

It would take a brave Englishman to suggest supporting Germany once England crash out of the tournament, yet… it might be worth considering supporting Germany. Germany are always compelling favourites to have success in major tournaments. And odds of 8/1 as of the 20th June with Betway for Die Mannschaft to lift the World Cup reflect how they are generally better at football than England. A slightly ropey start has seen Germany slip to comparable odds to those of Belgium and France rather than the front-runners Brazil and Spain, but Germany so often find a way to click into ruthless efficiency. Plus, a look at our nation’s heritage suggests that we have deep links to Germany.

Although The Telegraph ultimately considered the Queen to be fairly English, they do acknowledge how we have enjoyed deep cultural ties with Germany for over 1,500 years. Certainly, the Queen is more German than Brazilian. Although royal shenanigans are definitively less interesting to the nation than England 2-1 Tunisia, it would show utmost respect to the Queen if English fans respected their heritage and got on board with the Germans upon England’s departure from Russia. Plus, there would be a decent chance that we’d be celebrating after the final, albeit not on a ‘partying in the streets’ kind of level. It definitely wouldn’t look quite like BBC’s prediction of the state of the nation if England were to replicate their 1966 success.

Of course, if individuals root through their family tree and find connections to countries such as Panama and Nigeria, then they should become the priority for support, although that is unlikely to eliminate the feeling of disappointment. Instead, England fans will likely throw their support at the nation that has shown the most exciting football against the odds. Everyone loves an underdog, and nations such as Mexico and Senegal have shown a capacity for exhilarating football in defiance of moderate expectations.