What a morning to be an England fan!
As dawn broke today, the York streets were thronged with folk wearing the three lions on their chest and singing ‘It’s coming home!’
The early hours kick-off didn’t stop supporters hitting city pubs to watch one of the all-time great England performances.
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England overcame hostility, altitude and Jarell Quansah’s red card as Thomas Tuchel’s side edged a 3-2 blockbuster against World Cup co-hosts Mexico to set-up a quarter-final clash with Norway.
The team faced all manner of obstacles heading into Sunday’s last-16 tie at the majestic Estadio Azteca, where kick-off was delayed by an hour due to a storm.
It meant the game, with 11 minutes off added time in the second half, finished after 4am.
After the final whistle, fans on the streets of York were elated.
“Oh my god, it was amazing,” one young woman wearing an England shirt and flag told YorkMix.
“What an amazing game. What an amazing atmosphere. I think it’s going to come home, you know?”
Pausing to take breath at the corner of Spurriergate, James and Leo gave their verdicts.
“First half, bit shaky, scored two quick goals, brilliant,” Leo said. “Obviously, the red card in the second half’s not great, but we defended very well. It was brilliant game.”
James told us: “Put short and sweet, it’s the best England game I’ve seen in my lifetime.
“I’m not very old, but you know, best England game I’ve seen.”
Where can England go from here? “I think it could be a final. It could be a final – I’m not saying we could win it, but it could be a final.”
Their friend Katona added: “The game was brilliant.”
We bumped into an Australian lad who had switched his allegiance to England after his own team were knocked out.
Wearing a Jude Bellingham England shirt he said: “I love England. It’s my second team. We’ve got it! We’re in the quarter finals.”
In the same group was a disconsolate Mexico fan. “Mexico had the best game but they just had one bad minute. The English team scored two goals.
“They lost focus for a minute. The Mexican team had the best game, in my opinion.”
England will now face Norway on Saturday in the quarter-final, which kicks-off at 10pm. It comes after the Scandinavian side defeated Brazil 2-1.
