JUBILANT England fans hailed the Three Lions after they rolled past the Swiss into the Euros semi-finals tonight and roared: “We can win it.”
Gareth Southgate’s men have been slammed by supporters for their drab, cautious performances in the tournament.
And there were fears that his 100th game in charge would be his last if they were dumped out of the Euros.
But those fans are now convinced the team can go all the way after a vastly improved performance ended in a dramatic win on penalties.
Surveyor Will Lewis, 42, from Manchester, said: “We are one match from the final now and there is no reason why we can’t get there and win it.
“The football we played earlier in the tournament was not great but that’s all behind us – we can go all the way now.”
His son James, 14, added: “We can definitely win the Euros.”
Thousands of England fans belted out Sweet Caroline at the end of the gripping penalty shoot-out in the Dusseldorf Arena – and carried on singing as they streamed out of the stadium.
Jubilant Liam Henderson, 32, of Winlaton, Tyne and Wear, said: “This is what can happen when Southgate takes the handbrake off.”
Millions tuned in to watch on television at home while tens of thousands packed bars and fan zones across the country for yesterday’s quarter-final clash.
They were filled with optimism that England could finally justify the bookies making them tournament favourites.
And they raised the roof when the Three Lions made it to their second Euros semi-final in a row.
The nation ground to a halt ahead of kick-off as music festivals and other events paused their action so everyone could watch the game.
Pub bosses said 22 million pints were downed on the sector’s biggest day of the year so far.
British Beer and Pub Association chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “There is no better place to enjoy the game than the pub.”
Pub chain Green King sold nearly half a million pints during the match.
CEO Nick Mackenzie predicted: “It will be our busiest game of the tournament. The Euros are providing a great boost to pubs as communities come together to cheer on the team.”
Another 23 million pints were downed at home as supermarkets enjoyed a £200m boost in sales for booze and snacks.
Asda sold 100,000 pizzas – a 20 per cent increase on a normal Saturday – and a million people ordered in takeaways.
Around 23 million watched the action on the BBC, the biggest television audience of the year so far and the biggest since the 2022 World Cup.
Pubs and fan zones were also packed – and thousands of pints went in the air when Bukayo Saka scored his 80th minute equaliser and again when Trent Alexander-Arnold netted the winning penalty.
Transport worker Andy Redfern, 44, of Stockton-on-Tees, said: “I am made up for the players. They have been under an immense amount of pressure.
“It’s huge relief to have won.”
Dental nurse Kelly Barrie, 40, of Consett, County Durham, said: “I am delighted.
“It’s my birthday today so this is a double celebration.
“I didn’t expect us to win after the way we played earlier on in the tournament, so I am absolutely made up.”
In Bristol, the Cider Press bar was heaving and deputy manager Kit Dalton, 30, said before the match: “I’m nervous about the state the pub is going to be in.
“Last week we had two broken benches, so hopefully that doesn’t happen again.”
I didn’t expect us to win after the way we played earlier on in the tournament, so I am absolutely made up.
Kelly Barrie
In Newcastle, fans were packed into the city’s popular Millennium Square fanzone while the city’s bars were heaving.
Fabrications supervisor William Farquhar, 48, of Seghill, North Tyneside, said: “There have been some lacklustre performances but it hasn’t taken the shine off.
“Fans have really come together to enjoy the football and it’s been amazing so far, a real boost.”
KOBBIE MAINOO has shown he is the player that England need to build their midfield — and their team — around, writes Jack Wilshere.
That’s what I felt as it looked like we were slipping to defeat against Slovakia.
I know he was not on the pitch when our goals went in.
But until that unbelievable comeback, Mainoo was our best player.
He has a fearlessness and an instinct to do the right things at the right times that seemed to be lacking for so much of the game.
Mainoo alongside Declan Rice gives England better structure. In theory, at least, because for so long it didn’t look like that.
You can have any structure you like but if a team, individually and collectively, lacks confidence, you cannot use that structure effectively.
A fear can creep in. A fear of failing. A fear of losing the ball.
It is partly because of his age that Mainoo does not have that, or appears not to have it.
This was his first start in a major tournament. He does not know what it is like to have a bad one.
If we want to win this tournament, starting with the quarter-final against Switzerland, we will need to control games better.
Mainoo is the kind of midfielder England have been crying out for for a long time.
He can be the glue that holds together this team for the rest of the tournament and well into the future.
Read Jack Wilshere’s column in full.
Or check out all of Jack’s Euro 2024 opinions.
Quantity surveyor Ollie Tinn, 28, of Tynemouth, said: “We’ve played poorly, but I have still enjoyed it.
“There’s been a great atmosphere in the pubs.”
Carer Ryan Aplin, 32, of Howdon, North Tyneside, added: “The atmosphere among the England fans is electric, even though we haven’t played brilliantly.”
His son Freddie, eight, added: “It’s been so exciting. We’ve got some amazing players. My favourite is Harry Kane.”
More than 40,000 Three Lions fans were in Germany for the match – including Prince William who leapt out of his seat and punched the air when England equalised.
Only around 7,000 match tickets had been made available to England through UEFA, but many more managed to get their hands on one.
Around three quarters of the 47,000-seat Dusseldorf Arena was packed with Three Lions fans, effectively making it a home fixture for England.
They struggled to be heard over the red wall of Swiss fans at times but found their voice in the second half with a rousing rendition of The Great Escape and the national anthem.
And they belted out Sweet Caroline as the players celebrated the stunning win.
Thousands more fans were crammed into bars in the city’s Old Town, draping St George’s flags from buildings and belting out terrace favourites.
Bars along the Rheinuferpromenade on the banks of the Rhine were also packed.
Student Charlie Fulwood, 16, of Nottingham, and a pal tied their St George’s flag to the riverside railings.
He said: “We are really excited, but nervous as well. Everyone knows we have been poor but that doesn’t matter now.
“We are in the quarter finals and still have a great chance of going all the way.”
Barry Daff, 71, of Oakham, Rutland, was wearing a suit made from a St George’s flag.
The businessman said: “I have been to five World Cups now. I travel on my own but always meet people. The suit is something of a conversation starter.
Father and daughter Mick and Eva Holmes travelled out to the match from their home in Sheffield.
Mick, 30, dyed the six-year-old’s hair in the colours of the English flag and said: “It’s my best effort, if her mum was here, she’d do a better job of it.
Construction manager Scott Evans, 29, of Bexley, Kent, was in Dusseldorf on his stag do with 18 friends and relatives.
They booked the trip in November hoping England would win their group and clear the round-of-16 to secure a Saturday evening quarter-final in Dusseldorf – exactly as it has worked out.
But Scott only knew he had a ticket for the game yesterday morning when his pals presented it to him as a surprise.
Scott, who marries bride Hayley, 28, on July 18, said: “We have got to believe we can do it – that’s why all these fans have come out here.”
All England Club bosses had decided not to show the match at Wimbledon – but tennis fans were still following the action.
A huge roar went up on centre court when Alexander-Arnold netted the winning penalty which interrupted the game between Novak Djokavic and Australian Alexei Popyrin.
Both players smiled and Serbian Djokavic kicked a tennis ball as they waited for the applause to end.
And fans at a music festival at Silverstone ahead of today’s British Grand Prix cheered when the winning goal was shown on a big screen.
