The political question of this week is how the English feel about Europe. I say “English” rather than “British” because the 54 million English who make up 84 per cent of the UK’s population are more likely than Scots, Welsh or Northern Irish to vote to leave the European Union in Thursday’s referendum. It’s often said that the English — even those who will vote “Remain” — are overwhelmingly Eurosceptic. However, football reveals a more confused and surprisingly warm English-European relationship.
A nation is a nebulous concept. But the moment when you can almost see England, when the nation becomes flesh, is a big match of the national football team. England’s opening game of the European Championship against Russia last Saturday drew 14.1 million TV viewers, the UK’s largest audience of the year so far.
Little else brings the nation together. England’s cricket matches are almost all behind the paywall, the most watched TV programme on Christmas Day drew just 6.6 million British viewers last year (down more than two-thirds since 2001), and pubs are losing their role as meeting places much as churches did before.