There’s no doubt that everyone in England either saw or heard people celebrating after England beat Colombia yesterday, and fans are loving John Stones’ reaction to the final penalty.
The game went to penalties after extra time, and fans across England were sat at the edge of their seats, waiting to see if the Three Lions would break their unfortunate history of penalty shootout results and advance into the quarter-finals.
Of course, they did us proud, and England’s result last night saw the team win their first ever penalty shootout at a World Cup. After Dier scored the winning penalty, the nation went wild – and so did the players.
John Stones’ reaction to Dier’s goal might just be the funniest yet.
As the rest of the team rushed to celebrate and hug each other, Stones took a second to look back at the Colombian team, giving them direct eye contact while he cheered with joy at England’s victory.
See his reaction here:
After the gruelling game, you can almost hear Stones saying ‘have a nice journey home, Colombia’ just through his eyes.
Fans were understandably overjoyed at the game’s result, with many taking to Twitter to share their happiness.
One fan wrote:
I’m not sure what real happiness feels like, but I’m sure this is better. Call in sick, kick a cat, drink loads of beer. Just savour this, and bottle it up. ENGLAND. ENGERLAND.
Musician Ronnie Wood also showed his support by baring the England flag, writing:
What an amazing night for England
While a lot of people are probably struggling to remember the ins and outs of last nights game after too much celebratory drinking, Gary Lineker questioned whether the result was real at all.
He tweeted this morning:
Had this dream last night that England won a penalty shootout. Seemed so real.
But it was real Gary. It was real and it was glorious.
Dier admitted he was nervous to take the penalty, The Sun report.
He said:
It was a nervous one.
I’ve never really been in a situation like that before but felt I had to score after missing the header at the end, so I’m just thankful I scored.
We’re all very, very thankful you scored too Eric!
The Guardian reported England manager Gareth Southgate’s jubilation after the win, which made for a better memory than his missed penalty in 1996 that sent England home from the Euros they were hosting.
He said:
Today is a special moment for this team. It’ll hopefully give belief to the generations of players that will follow. We always have to believe in what is possible in life and not be hindered by history or expectations. I think these young players are showing that. They’re enjoying the tournament, and we’re looking forward now to the quarter-finals.
England are reportedly second favourites for the World Cup, and their next game will see them face Sweden in the quarter-finals on Saturday, kick off 15:00 BST.
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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.