England supporters sang Don’t Look Back In Anger to the players who brought our country to the World Cup semi-finals – for the first time since 1990.
After a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Croatia last night, (July 11) England are heading home – and not in the way we wanted them to.
The players restored pride to the national side, and after going 1-0 up within the first few minutes, fans were convinced the Three Lions were going to make it to the World Cup final – something not achieved since 1966.
Croatia equalised but neither side could find a winner inside 90 minutes, bringing extra time. Croatia bagged the winner with just 11 minutes remaining.
England players and fans alike were inconsolable as the final whistle blew, realising their World Cup dreams were over – and football was most definitely not coming home.
But the supporters out in Russia showed the young team how we all felt – they did England proud.
The stadium DJ read the situation perfectly, and launched into Oasis’ Don’t Look Back In Anger. England fans being England fans, they didn’t hesitate to join in, singing the team through their pain.
The song, being belted out by supporters, proved to the players England fans were undoubtedly proud of them.
Not only for making it this far in the tournament, but for giving football fans a taste of real hope – something not experienced for a long, long time!
Southgate and his lions applauded the fans at the end of the match, in what’s definitely been a tournament to remember for England.
England fans certainly know how to react to a goal, and when the glimmer of hope appeared within those first few minutes of the game – thanks to Kieran Trippier – supporters across the country, as well as those out in Russia, went wild with celebration.
There was so much beer!
Unfortunately, it was England’s last big celebration of the tournament.
The team will play Belgium on Saturday to determine who takes third place.
Harry Kane tweeted his disappointment after the match, writing:
It hurts a lot. It will hurt for a while. We can be proud and we’ll be back. Thanks for all your support. #ThreeLions #ENG #WorldCup
The official England Twitter account thanked fans for their support, throughout the tournament, writing:
To everyone who supported us.
To everyone who believed this time was different.
To everyone who wasn’t afraid to dream.
To everyone who knows this is only the beginning.
Thank you. We hope we made you proud.
#threelions
Gary Lineker tweeted his praise for the team, saying:
Utterly choked, but this young side gave absolutely everything.
It’s a huge step forward and they’ll only get better in the future.
They can hold their heads high, they did our country proud. Congratulations to Croatia.
Even the royals took to social media.
The tweet read:
I know how disappointed @england must feel right now but I couldn’t be more proud of this team and you should hold your heads high.
You’ve had an incredible #WorldCup, made history, and gave us fans something to believe in.
We know there is more to come from this @england team. W
Liam Gallagher also got involved with the England-team love, calling the team ‘biblical’:
The England team did us proud. We’ll be back, and I can tell you this – in 2022, it’s coming home. Definitely, maybe!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.