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It's a warm night in Saint Petersburg, and the air crackles with tension. With 89 minutes on the clock, England's semi-final against Russia is still goalless. It has been a long, hard road to the knockout stages of the World Cup, and The Three Lions have clawed their way to within a whisker of the grand finale. Gary Cahill lumps his umpteenth long ball up the pitch, with no real hope of anyone latching onto it. There, suddenly, is Michail Antonio.This is Antonio's big moment, and he's not about to let it pass him by. The former Tooting & Mitcham winger has come a long way, and it's his time to shine. Having burst through the Russian back four – lads, he's onside! – he rounds the goalkeeper and bears down on the empty net. "FINISH OFF THESE FOOKIN' BOLSHIES" cries Big Sam from the sidelines, a St. George's flag draped around his shoulders and billowing in the raging wind. The angle is narrowing, but Antonio takes his shot.He scuffs it, and the ball trickles past the near post for a goal kick. Big Sam's face falls, and a single, hot tear runs down his puffed-out pink cheek.While we don't want to completely doom Michail Antonio's England career, this is roughly what we imagine it will look like. We hope, for the sake of this great nation, that we are wrong. Big Sam raised a few eyebrows this weekend by including the West Ham forward in his first England squad, with many wondering exactly what Antonio will bring to the team. Our guess is that he'll bring exactly the same thing as every other England player: some promising early performances followed by a knockout-round exit at a major competition.In fairness, if Michail Antonio ends up missing a vital chance in the semi-finals of Russia 2018, he will at least have got to the semi-finals. That's more than any other current England player can claim, and more than the vast majority of former England players, too. Maybe, just maybe, Antonio could be the speedy but erratic winger this team have been crying out for over the past few years. Ignoring Theo Walcott, Andros Townsend, Raheem Sterling and Stewart Downing, that is.
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