Will things really be any better if England lose tomorrow?
In '96, after the semi-final loss, the knuckle draggers smashed up German cars in an act of....well, rampant stupidity. I used to live near a Portuguese cafe and delicatessen, which had its glass frontage smashed in 2006. Unfortunately, Stupid, hateful people will do stupid, hateful things. Those who promote or support xenophobia won't be meaningfully changed by the result and it'll be the same for those of us who feel the opposite.
Nations and governments will use sport to try and justify their regimes. Communist Russia spent untold amounts of money cheating to win Olympic medals and ultimately it counted for very little. Whatever political capital is to be had out of winning this tournament (and I don't think it's very much) will be gone and forgotten very soon. A few games into next season, Harry Kane will be fielding disgraceful insults from fans of Arsenal and Chelsea and West Ham....and...and. Whilst the same people cheer their German defender and Italian midfielder to the echo.
Tomorrow, just make sure to stick your Fiat or Ferrari in the garage.