Anticipation

The streets are eerily quiet. No shouting, no cars, no mopeds. Only some birds. Everyone has taken up their position for the game. But earlier the shops and the streets were full of people trying to finish their shopping before game time, buying beer and snacks.

The television isn't. All day every channel has been building and building to the game, interviews with people in streets and bars around Portugal, in Germany, players, trainers, journalists, anyone. In between there's songs and dancing from the sort of "light" "popular" entertainers who only emerge for occasions like this, decked in flags, scarves and Portugal tops, cheesy commerical songs, adaptions of traditional ones, all backed by an even cheesier accordion, brass band and drum machine.

Woe if you're trying to find a Portugal t-shirt to fit in with the crowd. In a small town the shops are already sold out, and to make matters worse everyone is wearing their own already at 11am, as if to make the point that the true supporters are prepared, and not just jumping on the bandwagon on game day. After an hour and a half trawling the discount shops and bazaars I finally have one, so with that and a Euro 2004 scarf I was given last week I have 22 minutes to get to the pub. Forca Portugal!