Then it was France
And 2-0 again
Hunt with both goals
To help England win and
In case you’ve not noticed
They’d not let one in.
Two wins and a draw
So England are through
But the Germans are talking
Of Franz Beckenbaur.
Elsewhere some surprises
The Brazilians are out
The favourites are ousted.
We’re in with a shout.
The Italians, God Bless them
Why they’ve gone home too
1-0 North Korea
They’ll have to lie low.
So it’s back to the football
Without more ado
To see what the white shirted
English will do.
Two games from the knock outs
And much left to do
Who’ll be the heroes
To pull England through?
Next up are Mexicans
And Bobby Charlton
Holds sway.
2-0 to the English and
We’re on our way.
You’ll never believe me
But I’ll swear to this day
That his shot for the goal
Burst through our TV!
Rheindahlen was a school bus ride
The largest base around
But we were based at Wickrath then
With German neighbours round.
Just a few flats where we lived
Canadian and English
Not much to see or much to do
But kick a ball
And wriggle through
Imaginary defenders.
We’d play on any patch of ground
Back then kids were allowed to
So leave us on our make do pitch
And move on with the story
As I shift the scene to Wembley’s green,
And coming English glory.
Andrew Green's Poems 