Everyone is still talking about the penalty. And that’s rather sad, as there was so much more to the game than just that one moment. And I know that I was guilty of this yesterday, so I’m going to add a bit more context.
Also, this is a subjective decision because referees are human.
Sure, everyone still talks about Maradona’s handball in 1986 or Frank Lampard’s “goal” in Bloemfontein in 2010 or Thierry Henry’s handball in 2009 as match-defining moments, but those were objectively incorrect calls (because referees are human).
There’s no dispute on those ones.
This one could have gone either way. It went England’s.
And I still think that was right.
But then, if you look beyond that one moment, was this really an unfair result?
No.
England had:
Greater xG
More big chances
More shots
More shots on target
58% possession
More touches in the opposition box
92% accurate pass rate (!)
11 of the top 15 players on the pitch by OPTA ratings
The Dutch got three corners.
And it’s a pity that this clearly dominant performance has been overlooked in the post-match analysis, when it’s a game that they obviously deserved to win. Sure, “the only stat that matters is goals scored”, but they did that as well, and it’s not hard to see that England were the better team on the night.
So let’s stop talking about the penalty decision now, please.
Onward and upward to Sunday evening.