Unless England are in a major tournament the International break is arguably far from being as enjoyable as Premier League action.
It’s not as easy to feel as engaged with your National team as much as your main side, who you watch religiously live or through highlights (if possible) every game of the season. There’s just not that connection!
Even though everyone is there together collectively supporting their nation, at heart they’re all fans of different clubs which mean more to them, (well for most).
During the International break countries play only a couple of games across the space of a handful of days which isn’t enough to get supporters back at home enthralled, in comparison to the 38 Premier League matches a season for example with one side.
Arsenal for example have the chance alongside hundreds of other clubs to win multiple major honours every year, however when it comes to International sides they’re extremely lucky at maximum to win a single trophy every two years. Unlike with domestic football, International sides have little opportunity of claiming a piece of silverware, with the potential wait for an honour dragging on for years if not decades or over half centuries (for most countries), for instance with England after winning the 1966 World Cup. This is something which only a small majority of the nation can remember!
People aren’t as patriotic overall as they used to be and it’s not a surprise. Let’s take the UK for example. The cost of living has gone through the roof in the past two years, wages have stagnated for over a decade, house prices are unaffordable for youngsters and according to Reuters 41% of gen Z aren’t a fan of the British Monarchy, which has stood for over 1000 years and one of the few remaining royal families around the World. YouGov also found that less than half those aged 18-24 are proud to be English on top of there being over a £20 billion economic debt at the moment. Therefore it’s tricky to imagine why more football fans should be patriotic and embrace their country and football team, when domestic issues in their own countries aren’t being solved.
England have their rivalries of course such as with Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Argentina and home nations such as Scotland and Wales, but it’s just not the same as Liverpool versus Manchester United for example. When the Three Lions under new manager Lee Carsley’s beat Ireland 2-0 in their Nations League match on Saturday, there just wasn’t the intensity and atmosphere which you would expect from a raging Premier League derby.
Despite the International break not being amongst many fans as their favourite period of the football calendar, England and many other national sides need this time to qualify for major tournaments such as the World Cup and Euros which they couldn’t do without!
