Proud England fans hailed their Three Lions heroes after a night of drama saw them edged out in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
The majority of supporters packed inside London’s main fan zone in Trafalgar Square and in fan parks, pubs and living rooms across the country, weren’t alive when Bobby Moore lifted the World Cup trophy in 1966.
Cheers rang out around the nation and beer was launched into the air as Luke Shaw’s strike got England off to the perfect start, but jubilation turned to mourning as a dramatic penalty shootout saw Italy claim the trophy.
At a street party in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester, Mary Thomas, 64, said: “To lose it at the last kick of the game, last kick of the tournament, is a sickener. That was a horrible way to end it.”
Despite the result, fans said the historic final appearance had united the nation after a difficult year.
Lamin Saho, 25, who had travelled from Essex to watch the match in Trafalgar Square, said: “We need this, after the year we’ve had. Football is the one thing that actually can bring everyone together right now. It doesn’t really matter who you are – it’s beautiful in that sense.”
Cameron McDonald, 27, who won a ballot after signing up for his first Covid jab, said: “It feels like a whole different world since England was last in this position 50 years ago. We’re here just after Covid. It feels like a defining moment in our national history.”
Wembley Way was transformed into a sea of colour hours before kick off as tens of thousands of fans got to the stadium early to party and perform renditions of Three Lions and Sweet Caroline with fellow supporters.
Fans carried a giant England flag through the streets near the childhood home of Raheem Sterling, who grew up in the shadow of the stadium’s famous arch.
However, there were scenes of trouble outside the stadium as dozens of fans broke through barricades in an attempt to force their way into the stadium without tickets.
Bottles were also thrown by a minority of fans in Leicester Square, as police increased their presence and some supporters left the area as the atmosphere became “too much”.
Thulase Sivasothy, 23, from south London, said: “They were trying to barricade the road and everything. There’s so much passion in London today.”
Some England fans set off fireworks outside the Italian team hotel in Enfield, north London, at 2am – luckily for the Azzuri squad rooms at the luxury Myddelton Lodge were soundproofed.
Outside the England team hotel in Hertfordshire, thousands of fans lined the streets and chanted “It’s Coming Home” as the squad boarded the Wembley-bound bus.
Meanwhile, some pubs experienced queues from the early morning as fans desperate to secure a table for the big game waited in line hours before landlords opened their doors.
Owner Declan Perkins said fans had started arriving shortly after 8am.
By lunchtime, police were turning people away from the Crooked Billet pub in Clapton, east London, where queues of more than 1,000 supporters draped in red and white had descended to watch the match.
In Manchester, fans packed the city’s Northern Quarter from the early morning as pubs such as the Crown & Kettle and The Bridge seeing lines of fans long before midday.
Piccadilly Circus was clouded by flares and fireworks throughout the day and similar scenes were seen in Leeds, Newcastle, Bristol and Sheffield as town and city centres became focal points for millions of supporters.
Around the country, England flags were hung from the windows of cars and houses and supermarkets reported a bumper day of sales as fans stocked up on snacks and alcohol.
Benny Elcock, from York, covered his entire house in England flags. He said: “It took me a couple of days to get it all up but it’s kind of my tradition. I have to say it makes it a lot better that they’ve got this far.”
“It’s coming home” rang from the bells of Gloucester Cathedral as Gareth Southgate‘s team united the nation in a way not seen for a generation.
But after all the noise and anticipation, pubs, fan zones and living rooms fell under the spell of a moment of history at 8pm as England’s first major men’s tournament final in 55 years got underway.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3hzjQkU
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