The hope that leads to despair when the hope is predictably extinguished in the summer

In today’s Fiver, the Federal Republic of Holland, the Netherlands & the Dutch, Andrei Kanchelskis and a surefire way to get sacked

It’s that point in the two-year international cycle where England register the unexpectedly impressive win that generates the hope that leads to the despair when the hope is predictably extinguished in the summer. On Saturday evening, several unfamiliar chancers purporting to be the world champions Germany were swatted aside majestically in Berlin. As a result, everyone’s pretending not to lose the run of themselves. But they are losing the run of themselves, aren’t they. You can just tell. Can’t you tell? The Fiver can tell. We can smell it on the breeze.

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