Dear England, Thank you.

England, where do I start? Writing within less than 24 hours of losing our first final in 55 years hurts; the emotions are still raw. This pain is going to stretch way past the summer. But we’re going to go through those emotions together, just as we have acted throughout the past month. Together.

The last month has well and truly reignited my pride to be an Englishman, especially one invested in football and sport. Despite not even being in my 20s yet, I, as well as millions of others, have been educated on England’s footballing past and what to expect when supporting the national team (not a lot).

We as a nation may be devastated now, but we are also carrying immense pride on our shoulders, as should Gareth Southgate and his players.

We are devasted because we were so, so close, but getting to the EUROs final in the first place should make us exceptionally proud.

I’m not going to lie, when Raheem Sterling secured us a 1-0 win in our first match of the tournament against Croatia, I started to feel premature giddiness. The typical contemplation of ‘what if this is actually our year?’ that comes every tournament was in the front of my mind. Then Scotland swiftly swept any hope away.

That draw against the Scots was remarkably drab and highlighted areas for improvement. Yet, it also secured our place in the knockout stages of the tournament which was the first step regardless.

Another 1-0 win against the Czech Republic in the final group game saw us through as winners, but optimism wasn’t exactly in surplus as fierce rivals Germany awaited.

Harry Kane hadn’t scored a goal yet. We’d only scored two, both by the same player. Yes, our defence was yet to be breached but England fans want to be entertained and so that vital statistic seemed irrelevant. They were certainly entertained in the following weeks, as the show really began as the knockout stages kicked off.

The way in which the Germany contest was managed was nothing short of a masterclass. We needed big players to step up at the right time and that’s exactly what they did. Jordan Pickford’s form was peaking right at the perfect time, as was Kane’s who scored the decisive second goal.

Sure, Germany didn’t look at their best and England did have home advantage but you can conjure up countless excuses, it was deserved and, with an easier route to the final on paper, suddenly an expectation to be knocked out in the round of 16 evolved into one of being one of the remaining two nations.

The Ukraine match was a breeze. They were visibly exhausted having reached their first-ever EURO quarter-final and England possessed a plethora of pride and confidence as they strolled to a 4-0 victory in Rome.

The final was already in touching distance, but a Denmark side spirited by abhorrent events in their first match of the tournament when star player Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest were no easy proposition, and that was certainly proved in the semi-final.

Like with the match against Croatia in the World Cup three years prior, England fans got overly confident as the excitement of being so close to a final overshadowed the fact that there was still a football match to be played. Unlike that game, the players stepped up when it mattered most and got over the line in extra time.

Even if England were to face a side that had won every game 10-0, the fans would still be optimistic. No, they didn’t win every game 10-0, but Italy were certainly the team of the tournament going into the final and their triumph emphasised that accolade. We were beaten by the better team.

But the way in which we were put to the sword is the most seismic of kicks to the teeth.

To Marcus Rashford, Jado Sancho and Bukayo Saka, we are all behind you. Those who spouted any sort of abuse in your direction do not reflect the views and feelings of genuine England fans. We as a collective are beyond proud of what you, the other 23 players and the manager have achieved over the past four weeks.

Not only have you been involved in England’s first route to a final in 55 years, but you’re also responsible for uniting a nation. Sure, there was unity during the World Cup three years ago, arguably the most seen during a tournament for decades, but this certainly trumps Russia.

For the past 17 months, we’ve all had our lives restricted. A decent proportion of that time has seen the country in lockdown and, simply put, life has been bloody miserable. But you and your teammates have all brought joy back to the people of England.

It’s going to hurt for a long time, but now more than ever is the country behind its football team. There’s another tournament in 16 months, if we can better the feeling this tournament is responsible for, we will be world champions. Now that is some incentive.

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