In Dublin last week, it wasn’t hard to tell that the World Cup semi-finals were taking place. On Tuesday, before the first semi-final, Spain and France jerseys were everywhere.  On Wednesday, it seemed as if Argentinians had decided to base themselves in Ireland for the night. England shirts were harder to spot and we don’t need to go into that again. But perhaps one of the reasons we hesitate to back England is not just for all the usual advanced reasons but because of the narcissism of minor differences. It must be said that there is nothing in sport like…

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