Dear England,

I love you. I think you know that. There’s nothing I like more than dipping a scone in a nice cuppa while binge watching the Great British Bakeoff and scrolling through Royal Family updates.

You had me at Cheerio.

But, I’m wondering now if you might be gettin’ a bit greedy, mate.  You’ve had a bloody cracking year!

The Royal Wedding (and then two more)! A royal Christening! That cool flypast honoring the Royal Air Force’s 100th anniversary! The 65th Anniversary of the Queen’s coronation! Trooping the Colors!

What I’m saying is, could you back off a little? Maybe let a sweet country like, oh I don’t know, CROATIA enjoy a little time on the world stage?

Maybe you think I’m biased due to the surname I married and the fact that we have an eight-foot Croatian flag hanging from our balcony, but hear me out!

I’m not saying throw the game today. That wouldn’t be sporting and we all want to see a great match. I’m just feeling a little of the collywobbles and I think it’s time for those crazy kids with the checkerboard shirts to have a little fun.

Harry Kane’s a great player but, don’t you have another Harry that’s having an exceptional year?

You’ve been a country for, what, five centuries? Croatia’s only been independent for 27 years. That’s younger than at least five players on your roster!

We’ve heard “God Save The Queen” about a thousand times this year and we look forward to hearing it again. But, maybe, only at the beginning of the game today, not the end.

Perhaps, just this once, you could join us all in a rousing rendition of Lijepa naša domovino.

Besides, don’t you have a tennis tournament you should be focusing on this week?

Ale aleee ale aleee Hrvatska!

My husband’s cousin, Gordana Biškupić Poturić, emailed me these pictures of Croatia getting ready for today’s big game. I thought we could all use them for a little inspiration…