A few months before the pandemic I went to a European Championship qualification game between Germany and Northern Ireland in Frankfurt. Germany had already qualified for the 2020 tournament (which eventually took place in 2021), while Northern Ireland was as good as eliminated. Germany won the game 6-1 in a stadium far from being sold out. Only one set of fans enjoyed the game, however. The supporters from Northern Ireland started singing long before the game kicked off, then kept on celebrating through the night. The German fans greeted their country’s goals with polite applause and then went home.

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