ENGLAND GET THE TASTE OF HARSH SUN

Adjusting To It Will Be Crucial, Says Ramsdale From Team’s Base Camp

- Siddharth.Saxena timesgroup.com

Al Wakrah (Doha): The sun hits its zenith early in these parts. And time seems to stand still, literally. It’s a wholesome three past in the afternoon in this district south of the capital city. It’s supposed to be early winter but the sun’s blazing away in uninterrupted glory, the giant clock on the Sports Complex gymnasium still shows nine past five. Maybe it is harmless, wishful thinking for a more pleasant time before reality shakes you awake. Does this time warp somewhere reflect the enduring predicament of the team that’s chosen this as their base at the World Cup here?

As England trained in the sun, the idea of their failed trysts with the World Cup, the singular success of 1966, an umbilical connection, paradoxically despite the commercial success of their Premiership, all shone through the thin air. Despite last edition’s semifinal presence, the promise of a host of youth championship victories, even the narrowly missed Euro title 18 months ago, at the hallowed Wembley no less, it is always their many disappointments that you instinctively identify England’s football team with.