TIM VYNER WORLD CUP DRAW

NO 27 SAMARA

On my last day in Samara, I visited the Cosmos Museum, dedicated to Soviet-russian space exploration. At the entrance is a full-sized Soyuz rocket designed in Samara, which is a centre for “Progress Design”. Soyuz rockets are used by Russian and American space programmes to put satellites into orbit.

Outside the museum were a few England fans, filling their time between quarter-final and semifinal. Most of the fans are already in Moscow. The few who remain, along with myself, are about to leave, not on a bullet train developed from space-age technology, but in a third-class sleeper.

We are all fuelled with excitement. England appear to be so mentally strong at the moment, I believe they could take on anybody. Just like the cosmonauts taking steps into the unknown, England will need nerves of steel from now on.