Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)

MILLIONS watched on TV last night as England finished second to Belgium – kicking off a travel rush to Moscow for the next round.

- BY PAUL BYRNE

The 1-0 defeat meant Gareth Southgate’s team will face Colombia in the Russian capital at 7pm on Tuesday.

An estimated 5,000 Three Lions fans were at last night’s Group G decider in Kaliningra­d but that figure could double next week with Moscow being much easier to reach.

The Spartak Stadium has a 45,000 capacity, and England are expected to be allocated around 3,000 seats.

But travel agents expect those who cannot get tickets will pack out fan parks just to say they were there.

James Pasquill, of BAC Sport, said it would have been much harder to get tickets to the remote southern city of Rostov-on-don, where group winning Belgium will play Japan on Monday.

He said: “People were waiting to see where we finished. Moscow is obviously a lot easier to travel to for us.”

Travel trade body ABTA said there had been a rise in bookings due to “the warm welcome” fans have found in Russia.

Kevin Miles, of the Football Supporters Federation, which represents half a million fans, said: “We have seen around 5,000 for the Belgium game and there will be many who have booked for the later rounds.”

Fans planning to travel next week have been urged not to “spoil the party” if they plan a belated World Cup arrival.

It follows reports of England fans brawling in Gdansk, Poland, on Wednesday on the way to Kaliningra­d.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council said spotters witnessed a “minor scuffle” stopped by fellow supporters.

Chief Insp Joe Stokoe said fans in Russia had “come here to enjoy themselves, respect the country, respect the hosts, be good guests and make the most of this fantastic experience.”

He added: “Don’t spoil all the good work done by English fans so far.”

Both England and Belgium had already qualified for the knockout stages before last night’s match.

But national pride was at stake when they lined-up in front of an estimated UK TV audience of 20 million.

Many people rushed home from work to sit down and watch with their families as England made eight changes to their starting line-up.

Comic Keith Allen, who in Fat Les

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