From jubilation to desolation
Millions suffer rollercoaster of emotion as England miss out on final
ENGLAND fans were left heartbroken last night as their team’s march to the World Cup final was ended by Croatia.
Despite going 1-0 up in five minutes, Gareth Southgate’s players went down to a 2-1 defeat in extra time.
More than 10,000 England supporters, who had made a long and costly journey to Moscow, were in the 78,011-seat Luzhniki Stadium. Many could be seen crying, or holding their heads in their hands.
Back at home more than 30million people watched the match at homes or in pubs, clubs and at big screens hurriedly erected around the country.
A staggering 30,000 people descended on Hyde Park in London where the Lightning Seeds treated the crowd to a rendition of Three Lions (Football’s Coming Home).
‘This is the best place in London to watch the football,’ said Alessio Teoli, 24.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan was also among the crowd.
As the semi-final went to extra time he tweeted: ‘Incredible atmosphere here in Hyde Park alongside so many thousands of Londoners and visitors, cheering our terrific team on. Extra time. Let’s go!’
At Millennium Square in Leeds thousands of fans, many wearing replica Tshirts, enjoyed the match.
Many linked arms to sing the national anthem, with the venue filling up completely 45 minutes before kick-off.
In Bristol thousands of football supporters gathered at the city’s fan zone to watch the match. And more than 8,000 fans were at Castlefield Bowl in Manchester.
After the defeat, Prince William offered his support to the England team. He tweeted: ‘I know how disappointed you must feel right now but I couldn’t be more proud of this team and you should hold your heads high.
‘You’ve had an incredible World Cup, made history, and gave us fans something to believe in. We know there is more to come from this team. W.’
Theresa May said: ‘Wasn’t to be this time but it’s been a great journey that’s made the country proud. We’ll be flying the flag on Saturday. Three Lions.’
Speaking to ITV after the match, captain Harry Kane said: ‘It is tough. We are gutted. We worked so hard. The fans were amazing. It was a tough game.
‘It hurts a lot and we are going to hurt for a while, but we can hold our heads up high. It has been a fantastic journey and we got further than anyone thought we could have. We thought we were good enough to go on and win it. The next step now is to go one further. We have to dust ourselves down and be proud of what we achieved. Then we go again.’
Fans who made the journey to Russia spoke of their disappointment but praised the team for exceeding expecta- tions. Salesman Peter Wood, 63, from Bristol, said: ‘I’m proud of this team and believe they’ll be back even stronger next time.
‘We were given no chance at the start of the tournament yet somehow got to within touching distance of the final. That’s a huge achievement.’
Bed shop owner Colin Whiting, 48, also from Bristol, said: ‘It’s been a privilege to see this team come so far and make us all so proud. But they’ve fallen after bringing us so close to a World Cup final after more than 50 years.’
Insurance broker Tom Reynolds, 30, from London, was stoic: ‘No one gave us a chance in hell at the start of this – and it was all about managing expectations.
‘But it’s been an absolute privilege to support these lads.’
Coffee shop boss Conor Ravenscroft, 25, from Bristol, said: ‘ They’ll be back stronger next time.’
Former England striker Gary Lineker said: ‘Utterly choked, but this young side gave absolutely everything. It’s a huge step forward and they’ll only get better.
‘They can hold their heads high, they did our country proud. Congratulations to Croatia.’
‘Hold your heads high’