England, draws, diplomacy and the Bungle in the Jungle
Never forget the Bungle in the Jungle. Before the draw for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Roy Hodgson announced that he wanted to avoid playing in Manaus because of the humidity of the jungle. Manaus’ insulted mayor immediately hit back in a statement. “We Amazonians would also prefer it if England did not come here,” said Arthur Virgilio Neto. “We will be hoping for a better draw of a team with more sensitive, cultured and educated technicians.” England inevitably got drawn to play in the jungle, against Italy.
So Hodgson hurriedly wrote a letter of contrition to Virgilio Neto emphasising that playing at the amazing Amazonia Arena “promises to be one of the highlights of the tournament for us”. High temps, lowlights. Hodgson’s players duly melted in the jungle heat and scorn of the locals.
When the draw was made, Hodgson’s chairman, Greg Dyke, was clearly not too confident. Dyke, an ebullient character with a successful career in TV but not obsessed with tact, made a throat-cutting gesture when Hodgson’s team were pitted against Uruguay, Italy and Costa Rica. Words and actions get scrutinised closely when England step into the global glare at draws and tournaments. It was naïve of Hodgson and Dyke. Hodgson should have been more diplomatic and, for such an intelligent individual, should have seen how his words might be perceived.
Hosts are incredibly sensitive to such comments and gestures, especially from the English so often deemed as arrogant around the world with the history of having invented and codified the game and won the World Cup. Dyke also made the mistake of failing to explain to a critical media that his gesture was meant light-heartedly. He took off for home sharpish after the draw. His gesture certainly took off on for the back-pages.
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Current occupiers of the hot-seats once sat in by Hodgson and Dyke are today in Washington, fittingly, as now is the time for diplomacy as well as the World Cup draw. Every comment that Thomas Tuchel makes will be picked over on the world stage. The words and body language of the FA party, including the chairman Mark Bullingham, will be analysed closely.
The US hosts for 2026, along with Canada and Mexico, are more resilient to any sleights and England and the FA have learned from past insensitivities. Tuchel and Bullingham should be smart enough, and they have good media advisers, to weave past tricky questions on why on earth Fifa, supposedly a football organisation, is getting involved in dishing out peace prizes, the unconscionable cost of many tickets and the impact on the environment of a three-nation tournament with 48 teams. All very concerning.
But the main thing they have to guard against is triumphalism. Tuchel and Bullingham will be asked whether England can reach the MetLife Stadium on July 19 and then end the years of hurt. It’s always the right question for the media to ask – makes great headlines, TV and radio - but it’s also a loaded question. How will Spain and France react?