draped!

When England played Croatia this week, the Croatians took the field draped in their own flag - the red-and-white checkerboard that is the first thing anyone on Earth pictures when they think of Croatia, worn without a flicker of apology. England took the field with no St George's Cross on their shirt at all. After the row over Nike's "updated" multicoloured cross two years ago, the manufacturer's answer was to take the flag off entirely and replace it, inside the collar, with the words "happy and glorious". We know exactly why this is, because it is the same reflex I have written about all week: the warship we answered with an investigation, the soldiers' flags confiscated at the turnstile, the FA moving to act against their own fans. They'd like every trace expression of Englishness removed from the public spectacle of England. And then we are told - as we were by Slaven Bilic and the former Miss Croatia - that England is disliked because of its arrogance. It would be funny if it were not so revealing, because the truth runs entirely the other way. No supporters on earth talk down their own team as relentlessly as the English. We spent the build-up to this tournament loudly and embarrassingly assuring ourselves we would go out early, as we always do (except we don't, not any more, as three semi-finals and two finals in the last 8 years should be enough to make clear). One of our most celebrated former internationals went on air to declare that the squad contains only a single genuinely world-class player. Are these people nuts? Consider what that "ordinary" team actually is. It is managed by Thomas Tuchel - a Champions League winner, a title-winner in two countries, with probably the finest club record of any manager at this World Cup with the exception of Carlo Ancelotti. Under him England qualified with a 100% record and did not concede a single goal across the entire campaign, the first European nation in the history of the competition to do it. The side is captained by Harry Kane, fresh from a season of 60-odd goals for Bayern Munich. It has Real Madrid's wild mercury at 10, the captain of Chelsea at the back, and the spine of Arsenal through the middle (and if the current iteration of Arsenal are good at anything, it's spine). By any sober reckoning this is one of the strongest squads in the world. We are very nearly the only people on it unable to see as much. The reason we love football, aside from the football, is because football is never only football; it's one of the purest theatres of human drama outside of war, full to bursting with stories within the game, and with stories the game tells us about ourselves. And the story of this England team, and of our refusal to believe in it, is the story of the country in miniature. We are a people brimming with ability and starved of belief in ourselves. We scrub our own flag from our own shirt, talk down a side good enough to beat Croatia and cross a continent in qualifying without conceding a goal, and then dignify the resulting gloom by flattering it as sober "realism". I cannot tell you whether this team will win the thing; no one can, and that uncertainty is the entire point of a tournament. But a country with this much talent at its disposal - in football and in everything else - that cannot quite bring itself to believe it might be good, and ENJOY the fact that come what may it IS good and can do well, has a problem no manager and no kit supplier can solve. We have the ability in abundance. What we have mislaid is the nerve to act as though we have it. Put the cross back on the shirt, and get behind the team while we are at it. A people that has forgotten how to believe in itself will never win anything, on the pitch, or off it.

They want to ban the flag that is draped over the coffins of the fallen soldiers who died defending their freedom. I couldn't despise Oxfordshire Council more if I tried. I also don't care who is offended by our flags. Don't like them? Then leave.

She doesn't just sit in a room - she commands it. Draped in black silk with an asymmetrical caress, adorned with jewels that catch whispers of light. Her hair flows like ink in moonlight. Her rings tell stories. Her brooch? A crown on her shoulder. This is not a photograph. This is a portrait of grace, frozen in time. She is elegance. 🖤✨ That is Yoko!!! Yoko Apasra APASRA NEXT CHAPTER #YokoLineUp2026

Nong Orm's visual today is absolutely flawless and stunning! ✨ Draped in BVLGARI high jewelry, our baby girl's aura still shines so bright—just like the blogger praised: 'elegant and noble, dazzling and shining! ✨💎 ORM FRIEND OF BVLGARI #ORMxBvlgariHighJewelrySG #OrmKornnaphat #ออมกรณ์นภัส‌ @ormmormm

a vision draped in tradition. 🌺✨ #Ladysuperstar #Nayanthara

You really have zero awareness. Greco-Roman Fire Emblem. Dagdan Empire with polytheism ancient Nile/Mesopotamian motifs . Draped fabrics and gold jewellery from Mediterranean regions....like Egypt. Even the names are Mediterranean. Cai's Ribeira Village is PORTUGUESE.

Absolutely. I think she would hate herself if she didnt play her way. At the end of the day its always a little reckless. Fast paced. Never give up and be super exciting. The girl loves getting everyone involved. Its coded in her DNA.And shes draped on up the floor for a reason.

Draped in black and adorned with Bvlgari, she is pure elegance. ✨ ORM FRIEND OF BVLGARI #ORMxBvlgariHighJewelrySG

WHEN YOU RECEIVE YOUR DADS FLAG THAT DRAPED HIS COFFIN.

A majestic elk stands tall amid the moss-draped trees. 📷 Kristian Gillies