‘It’s coming home’ emerged from huge scrum of sunburnt flesh

on Brighton Beach THERE was jubilation in the air at Brighton Beach, as well as, for a split second, an ocean of lager. The whistle had blown on England’s 2-0 win over Sweden, and as the opening chords of Three Lions boomed from the speakers, 3,500 England fans danced for joy.

They punched the air, they hugged strangers, they jumped on the pebbles and they bellowed “Football’s coming home” with hoarse but joyful voices. The lager splashed down on bouncing heads and sunburnt shoulders. Here at The Luna Cinema, an open-air big screen in front of a viewing enclosure the size of a football pitch, these fans had witnessed England reach what was for many of them the country’s first World Cup semi-final of their lives.

It was one of those human moments that would be bemusing to a visiting alien but joyous to anyone with a scintilla of attachment to the team.

Many of the crowd were boisterous 20 and 30-somethings, some of them wearing retro England shirts, some of them simply wearing sunburn. Never in their adult lives has the national side brought the country such joy.

“I don’t normally watch football, but this World Cup has been really special,” said Brianna Mills, 25, who had come to the screening with her school friend Hannah Howell, also 25. Howell had extra reason to cheer England’s goals: watching England’s round-of-16 match against Colombia with some friends from work, she had missed the winning penalty – Gareth Southgate would sympathise – when their projector cut out. “I’m happy to be here,” she said. “There was no way I’d miss the quarter-final.”

Brianna and Hannah, recent converts to football, were standing on the fringes of the huge scrum of flesh that was front and centre of the screen. It was from this core of blokeishness that most of the singing began, from the regular beltings-out of “It’s coming home” to personalised chants for individual players. Even shooting wide was enough for a player’s name to erupt in song.

At the front of this denser part of the crowd stood Damian Whittington, a 39-year-old roof tiler, here with his brother, Gareth (not that Gareth), Keith, his father, and James Stevens, their friend. “I’m ecstatic,” he said in the moments after the final whistle. “It’s coming home”. Keith, 58, has endured decades of disappointment in the national team, but felt that something had changed. “I haven’t seen them play like that since the 1996 Euros,” he said. Following England, he said, “gets frustrating, but there’s something about this team”. He added: “I think we’re going all the way to the final”. Everyone agreed, naturally. Football attracts amateur soothsayers like Raheem Sterling attracts fouls.

Consistent with the widespread prediction that football is coming home, there was nobody in the crowd willing to express pessimism about England’s semi-final, and many who claimed credit for correctly calling the team’s success.

England’s goals came from two headers, and, according to Sam Kanar, a 26-year-old who had led five friends

‘It gets frustrating, but there’s something about this team. I think we’re going all the way to the final’

here from London, “both times I said I had a feeling they’d score.”

Watching the highlights of England’s earlier games in this World Cup, Sam had seen footage of the celebrations at The Luna Cinema, and, hoping for a sunny day out on the South Coast, bought the tickets immediately. “If we win this game we’re staying for the next one,” he said after the second goal.

The best prediction of the day, however, came from Alex Campbell, a 20-year-old who had backed Harry Maguire to score the first goal against odds of 50/1. “Drinks on you, yeah?”, suggested his friends loudly. Paul the Octopus has a successor.

Even a spectating Russian was delighted to see England progress. Olga Orlova, a 43-year-old who has lived in London for 12 years and had come to Brighton with a group of friends, told of her happiness at the welcome Russia had given to visiting fans. “Russian people are nice,” she said. “We like to be friends.”

As the thousands of fans began to file out of the enclosure, they were still singing those three little words that stir English hearts more than any others: “It’s coming home.”