Finding ways to cope when football comes home

It was an age of innocence that seems a long time ago now; those perfect summer days when we could take a moment every few hours to ask ourselves whether or not this has been a great World Cup, maybe even the greatest World Cup.

That halcyon time had its apotheosis last Monday night in the seconds after a red squadron stormed the breadth of Rostov-On-Don for Nacer Chadli to slot home. And we could agonise for the heartbroken Japanese without an ounce of true sorrow, knowing we had Brazil v Belgium in store.

Indeed, even as Colombia’s Mateus Uribe stepped up for his spotter, the following night, perhaps there were some among us able to take another moment to reflect on how this grand World Cup was ticking one more box in its delivery of a familiar old comedy that’s always worth another watch.