MOSCOW — Of course it went to penalties. It always goes to penalties.
And of course everyone expected England to lose. Because England always loses when it goes to penalties.
It has become something of a theme. Or a curse. 1990. 1996. 1998. 2004. 2006. 2012. Six major tournaments in two decades, and England, brimming with high hopes and big-name players, going out in the cruelest possible way.
But this a new England, they say. A young team with smiles on their faces and a spring in their step and the belief that it doesn’t always have to be the way it has always been.