Street parties, singalongs – and a few sore heads
THE moment Eric Dier’s penalty flew past the grasp of Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina was the moment England fans exploded with a roar of joy and disbelief. From Brighton beach to London and Leeds, tens of thousands of supporters took to the streets to savour the first ever England penalty shootout win in a World Cup.
As parties continued into the early hours, the ‘football’s coming home’ refrain from Euro 96 song Three Lions turned into an unofficial national anthem. London’s iconic red buses were brought to a standstill as Shoreditch High Street was gridlocked by fans. Others were seen climbing lampposts by Finsbury Park.
One supporter danced on a bus shelter in front of cheering crowds in newcastle, while there were impromptu street parties around the country. England legend David Beckham, who hosted a viewing party in his private cinema room, posted: ‘Football is coming home... what a night... Engerrerrrrrland’.
World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst also sent a touching message to captain Harry Kane and the rest of the team, writing: ‘You will never have a better opportunity to make the country proud.’
The five minutes of the shootout in Moscow were seen by 23.6 million people in Britain, while an average of 16.5 million watched the game in its entirety. At one point roughly four in five people watching TV in the UK were tuned to ITV. The game was also seen in pubs, bars and pop-up venues.
As the country surfs on a wave of optimism, Three Lions – by comics David Baddiel and Frank Skinner, and The Lightning Seeds – has topped the iTunes music chart. Baddiel tweeted: ‘Blimey. Again.’
But with fans making the most of the atmosphere and the balmy weather, bosses feared for their workforce yesterday morning.
There was a 36 per cent increase in staff absenteeism after England clashed with Tunisia, according to BrightHR. Boss Alastair Brown said: ‘ The World Cup is causing havoc for employers as England progress. There is an increase in employees calling in sick.
‘Staff members are flocking to follow games in any way possible.’
England are now joint second favourites alongside France to win the tournament at just 4/1, according bookmakers Ladbrokes.
Brazil remain favourites at 11/4, while talismanic striker Kane is odds-on at 1/4 to win the coveted Golden Boot for top scorer.
Meanwhile, midfielder Fabian Delph, 28, flew back to Russia to rejoin his team-mates, after being allowed home to attend the birth of his third daughter.