We have reached a historic moment in English sport. After four semi-final appearances in five tournaments, the nation is being asked to accept that this is simply where we belong now. Not winning. Not even finals. Semi-finals. The penultimate stage. The participation trophy of international competition.
Let us be clear about what we are celebrating: the ability to lose at a stage slightly later than before. This is what passes for unprecedented times in 2026.
The logic is breathtaking. A record of semi-finals is outstanding, we are told, as if reaching the round before the round that matters has become a monument to national achievement. Imagine applying this standard elsewhere. “We have crashed our car into the same lamppost four times in five years — this is where we belong.” “Our startup has failed to secure Series B funding with remarkable consistency — accept this.” “We have lost the custody battle repeatedly — this is our new golden age.”
But here is the real satire: we have genuinely convinced ourselves that semi-final consistency is excellence. We celebrate the near-miss as destiny. The narrative has flipped so completely that getting knocked out before the final is now framed as a triumph of modern English football, a sign that we have evolved beyond the crude ambition of actually winning things.
The bar has not been lowered. It has been buried.
England belongs in finals. England belongs winning tournaments. Anything less is not a new standard to accept — it is a failure we have learned to dress up in the language of progress. And that, genuinely, is the most English thing of all.