DON’T MENTION THE SCORE*
NOW COME ON ENGLAND!
JUBILANT England fans were celebrating in the streets of Russia last night after Germany were sensationally knocked out of the World Cup.
The Three Lions’ greatest footballing rivals crashed out of the tournament following a humiliating 2-0 defeat to South Korea.
Stunned German players sank to their knees in tears in the Kazan Arena after two injury-time goals sealed the fate of the World Cup holders who have won the title four times.
It is the first time Germany have been eliminated in the first phase of the tournament since 1938.
The shock result sparked wild scenes in the streets of Kaliningrad where up to 15,000 England fans are gathering ahead of the Three Lions’ final group stage match against Belgium tonight.
England were knocked out on penalties by the Germans in both World Cup ’90 and Euro ’96.
And yesterday’s result came eight years to the day after Germany knocked England out of the 2010 World Cup by beating them 4-1 in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Moments after the final whistle, bookmakers Coral slashed the odds of England winning the World Cup from 10-1 to 8-1, making them joint fourth favourites with France.
Last night Belgian fans and Russian locals joined in impromptu parties held in bars in the enclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.
BBC presenter Gary Lineker amended his recent quote about German dominance, saying of the result: “Football is a simple game. Twentytwo men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans no longer always win. Previous version is confined to history.”
George Elek, of comparison website Oddschecker, said: “England’s route to the final will now be clear of a penalty shootout loss to the old enemy.”
It came as England’s footballers were given a massive boost back home after Theresa May said Number 10 will fly the flag for the Three Lions.
The Cross of St George will be raised over 10 Downing Street during every match that England play throughout the rest of the tournament.
And the Prime Minister urged every other government department to adopt the practice – including the Scotland Office.
The battle cry came amid growing hopes that England can continue their goal-scoring bonanza tonight against Belgium.
Addressing the Commons during Prime Minister’s questions Mrs May said: “Number 10 will be flying the England flag on the day of each of
‘CRAZY’ SUPPORTERS ARE DRIVING US ON, SAYS HERO LINGARD
STAR player Jesse Lingard last night urged fans to go “crazy” for England and said “mad” celebrations back home were driving the players to World Cup glory.
He said video footage of Three Lions’ supporters going wild after England’s opening two victories in Russia had an inspirational effect on the team.
Lingard, 25, said the players were virtually cut off from the outside world at their training camp but watching internet clips of celebrations back home increased their determination to go all out to win the tournament.
The midfielder, who won a penalty and scored a wonder goal against Panama, said: “It’s crazy because here we are out of the way. We don’t really know too much about what’s going on so to see the clips back home...it’s mad, it’s mad.
“That is what we need to drive us through the competition. They need to keep doing Jesse Lingard in plea to fans
WAGS STILL BUBBLY TILL DAWN
ENGLAND’S World Cup “Wag” squad partied until the sun came up yesterday. Jamie Vardy’s wife Rebekah led a nine-strong team on a night in St Petersburg. The fun kicked off at a Japanese restaurant on the beachfront 30 miles from the team’s HQ in Repino. John Stones’s sweetheart Millie Savage, Gary Cahill’s wife Gemma Acton and Jordan Pickford’s girlfriend Megan Davison all swigged champagne. A video clip shows Harry Maguire’s girlfriend Fern Hawkins smoking a hookah pipe with Rebekah. An image of Jack Butland’s fiancee Annabel Peyton is timed at 3.34am. In another of Rebekah’s photographs the time is 3.56am. Also there were Kyle Walker’s wife Annie Kilner and Marcus Rashford’s girlfriend Lucia Loi.
England’s matches from now on. We will be encouraging other government departments to do the same.”
She added: “I’m going to go further than my predecessors. Next year we will do the same for the women’s World Cup.”
Mrs May made the pledge after Tory MP Nick Boles called for a show of patriotism across public buildings.
The former minister had launched a petition to campaign for the move.
Strict protocols govern which flags can be flown from government buildings and when.
Number 10 is currently flying the Armed Forces Day flag to mark a week of celebrations in honour of Britain’s military.
A Labour source said Jeremy Corbyn currently has a Cross of St George in his office, but declined to say whether the leader would fly the flag outside the party HQ or his own home.
Asked on Twitter whether he would be following the PM’s call to arms, Scotland Secretary David Mundell quipped: “Happy to do so as I am confident No 10 and other UK departments will be flying the saltire in 2022.”
Experts predict up to 21 million people will follow the big match live tonight – making it the most-watched World Cup game for eight years.
The prime-time 7pm kick-off is on ITV1. that for us.’’ More than 21 million tuned in to watch England’s opening 2-1 win against Tunisia – the biggest TV audience for any show in the past seven years.
And around 17 million viewed the 6-1 drubbing of Panama which saw the team qualify for the knockout stages with a game to spare.
Up to 21 million are expected to tune into tonight’s clash with Belgium, which will determine which of the two teams top Group G and who they will face in the next knockout stage of the contest.