‘100 per cent worth it’: England fans stay up until dawn for ‘surreal’ 3-2 thriller
England fans relished the chance to stay up all night as they watched Thomas Tuchel’s team beat Mexico in a match that proved worth every sleepless minute.
It was a game that had a little bit of everything, with the Three Lions fighting off one red card, two penalties and countless Mexican attacks to book their place in the quarter-finals.
There was early disappointment after the match was postponed for an hour due to storms in Mexico City, but fans at the Clapham Grand in South London were unimpressed. Aaron Andrews, 26, said before kick-off: “It’s going to suck things up tomorrow, but overall it’s not that bad.” “We’re all drunk anyway. As long as the kids bring it home, it’s okay.”
But thankfully the clouds cleared and at 2am in the iconic Azteca stadium, the audience’s eyes were glued to the screen as the two sides sized each other up.
Although the first 20 minutes were uneventful, it was the only quiet part of the match. Just after the half-hour mark, England put themselves in an enviable position with Jude Bellingham’s superb strike inside 90 seconds. But Tuchel’s men conceded one at half-time and looked as if they were hanging on by their fingertips.
The turning point of the game could easily have come in the 53rd minute when Jarell Quansah was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Mexican Jesus Gallardo. However, they were saved by a brilliant performance from Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane secured the penalty, converting the penalty to restore the two-goal lead and delight the fans.
It was after 3am but the England fans showed no signs of relaxing even as Raul Jimenez’s penalty threatened to close the gap on them once again. After being down to ten men and facing a relentless Mexican attack, there was only one thing left to do: stay away from the back of the net.
It may have been painful, but England fans were there for their team every step of the way. At Clapham Grand every tackle, header, heroic save and desperate hoof was greeted with deafening applause. Anything to make the seconds pass.
And after more than 11 minutes of torturous injury time, the whistle blew, England could breathe again and every pub and bar erupted with enthusiasm and joyfully played ‘Sweet Caroline’. This seemed like a daunting task, but England had proven they could handle it.
Imogen Meade, 19, and Sophia Williams, 18, later took to the streets and said staying up until 4am was “100 per cent worth it”.
“It was wonderful,” Ms. Meade said. “I thought we would lose, but I’m glad the altitude didn’t affect us.”
They said the moment they will remember was the brief minute between Bellingham’s two goals in the first half, which they described as “crazy.”
“I have work in three and a half hours, but it was 100 percent worth it,” Ms. Williams said. “I would never, ever, ever miss it.”
Ivan da Rosa, Kallai Beckford (both 19) and Emmanuel Owusu (18) said it was a night they would remember “for a long time”.
“It was really fun,” Mr. da Rosa said Independent. His favorite moment was Bellingham’s second goal, which he said was the turning point of the game.
“I knew England would win after that.”
Charlie, Fliss, Simon and Adam, who did not give their surnames, plan to have the day off and spend the day recovering after a tense but exciting night.
“The second half was very tense,” Fliss said.
“Going into Azteca and thinking we were weak because of the altitude but then we came out of the gate and got two points. Tuchel really knows how to manage a game like this,” Charlie added.
The group said they were a little annoyed by the back-and-forth regarding timings in the game, but in the end, continuing to watch was “definitely worth it.”
As a beautiful summer day dawned across the country, the dawn chorus sounded a bit like a medley of “Hey Jude” and “Coming Home”, accompanying fans back to bed for a few precious hours of rest.
It may be a long night, but it’s one that won’t be soon forgotten.
