England fans rally behind team despite cagey start to Euro 2024 final
Tens of thousands of supporters were in Berlin for the match against Spain on Sunday evening, while back at home the nation’s pubs were mobbed.
England fans have rallied behind the Three Lions despite a cagey start to the Euro 2024 final.
Tens of thousands of supporters were in Berlin for the match against Spain on Sunday evening, while back at home the nation’s pubs, bars and fan zones were mobbed.
The Prince of Wales, who is attending the match alongside his son Prince George, was seen chatting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the Olympiastadion before the match.
Close to them was King Felipe VI of Spain and Infanta Sofia of Spain.
The atmosphere was electric among England fans inside the stadium, with Phil Foden’s chant to the tune of Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark ringing out.
Meanwhile, thousands in the Brandenburg Gate fan zone cheered as the team’s starting line-up was read out on stage before chanting “Eng-er-land”.
Supporters who had travelled to the German capital, but not managed to get tickets for the match, wore the team shirt and draped themselves in flags, with some sporting red and white face paint, to watch the action from the screen.
The red and yellow colours of the Spanish flag were also on display in the area and fans mingled together, with both sides appearing to be in good spirits.
Barber Sam Tattersall, 29, from Nottingham, who shaved a red St George’s Cross into his hair, said before the match: “I thought I’d go for it with the St George’s cross because football’s coming home.”
Rob Cheetham, 24, from Wiltshire, said he had been camping in Essen since the start of the tournament.
He said: “I think the amount of times we’ve gone one behind and come back, no matter what happens at the start of the match I’m still going to have hope.
“Even if we’re losing in the 90th minute, we’ve still got hope that we can bring it back at the end.”
England fans have paid thousands of pounds, travelling by air, road and rail to Germany.
Supporters at Boxpark in Croydon, south-east London, loudly celebrated a crucial early block by John Stones, who diverted a Spain shot for a corner.
The crowd’s mood was generally muted during the opening minutes of the match.
At half time, Dan Leonard, 35, from Morden said: “I think it’s been very cagey.
“It was always going to be a tight game. We’re defending well and offering a bit when we’re going forward.
“I was praying half-time would come. Spain are very good.”
A 1,200-strong crowd in Newcastle rallied despite England’s slow start, cheering and roaring every tackle the Three Lions made.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who was alongside 15,000 fans at the O2, said the “sky’s the limit” as businesses such as supermarkets, pubs and restaurants were “booming”.
The men’s side has never won a European Championship, with the World Cup win in 1966 their last and only major silverware.
It is the first time the men’s side has reached a final outside England.
