England fans in boozers are left disappointed after World Cup stalemate

Frustrated England fans in packed pubs across the country are disappointed after tonight’s World Cup clash between Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions and the USA in Qatar ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Supporters had hoped England would trounce the Americans decisively after they tore Iran to pieces in a 6-2 thumping. 

But tonight’s much-anticipated match ground into a 94-minute stalemate that ended in a disappointing 0-0 draw. 

Speaking outside the The Northcote pub in Clapham Junction, south London, Adam Watts said: ‘I’m 24 and I’ve been an England fan for 24 years.’

He added: ‘I’m shocked. I’m very disappointed by the result. Southgate once again made poor decisions. First half we were terrible. Indecision when it came to the second half. US dominated us the whole time and it wasn’t good enough – we’re not going to win the World Cup. If we continue like this we won’t win.

‘It’s ruined my weekend. I’m trying to cheer myself up by going to Northcote and have a good night – it’s not going very well.’

Sam Norkett, 27, who works in investments, said: ‘It was an emotional rollercoaster. We expected England to do well but there was a lot of pressure involved.

‘We’ve got Wales on Tuesday so if we slash that it will be fine.

‘It’s a massive deal and we had friends coming from all over the country and it should have been amazing. It was quite disastrous today. But we’re going to be okay because it’s coming home.’

Gutted Geordies stormed out of Newcastle’s Central Fan Zone after a disappointing draw with the USA. Some furious England fans headed to the bar to drown their sorrows while others stood shaking their heads. 

Emily Farairrie, 19, a bar worker from Newcastle said: ‘It was embarrassing. ‘Every second in the last half was a nerve-wracking, finger biting moment. The contrast between how they played on Monday and tonight is night and day. They played terribly. It was hard to watch.’ 

Paul Herter, 22, a carer from Newcastle said: ‘It was anti-climactic. It was shocking. I was expecting much more from them. It’s a huge let down, especially after Monday. I have work tomorrow so I can’t go out and drown my sorrows. We should have easily beat the USA.’ 

Aaron Shield, 29, a prison officer from Newcastle said: ‘That match was horrendous, absolutely horrendous. They have some of the best players on the bench but they refuse to play them. I’m gutted but they didn’t even deserve a pint for that performance. They didn’t create any chances for themselves.’ 

Charlie Darcy, 28, also a prison officer from Newcastle said: ‘It was awful. It’s my birthday today and I had to watch that rubbish. They weren’t playing very well at all. ‘It’s a huge disappointment after their earlier performances.’ 

Matthew McLeod, 18, an engineer from Newcastle said: ‘It was dreadful. We should have scored against the US but they didn’t create any chances to do that. I would rather watch Newcastle play than England at this rate. We have to give the USA credit. They played really well. Everyone came here thinking we would win and we could walk away happy but that’s not the case.’

Laura Mell, 25, a store worker from Newcastle said: ‘I was on the edge of my seat. It was really frustrating to watch. England can win but they need to pull their finger out. The USA is playing really well.’

Her friend, Kathryn Thonson, 28, a store worker from Newcastle said: ‘I was really nervous watching it. I’m a bit gutted after the first half but I still think they can win. I thought England were going to score at the very beginning. I hope we can win it in the second half.’

Lee Newton, a 36-year-old teacher from Alnwick said: ‘The first half was underwhelming but I’m hopeful.

‘A lot of the games in the tournament have been 0-0 at first half but the second half has been brilliant. I think England will pull it back. It’ll be 1-0 to England at the end.’

Dave Murther, 40, a FedEx worker from Newcastle said: ‘It wasn’t the best first half. They’ve gave away too many goals. They need to get the subs on and get Foden on the pitch. The second half will be nail biting but I think we can do it.’

Max Russell, 18, an engineer from Newcastle said: ‘It hasn’t been a good start to the game. We have to get other players on the pitch such as Grealish and Foden. Harry Kane isn’t doing what he’s supposed to. I was really nervous while watching it. We can claw it back. We can’t lose to the USA, no chance.’

A smattering of boos rang around the fan zone in Hull as supporters were left underwhelmed by the frustrating performance. Supporters filed out of the giant quayside complex looking subdued after expecting a show to set their Friday night alight. 

Railway worker Ian Croft, 40, said: ‘I thought we would run away with it before the game but at half time we were lucky not to be behind. 

‘Southgate needs to make changes for the Wales game. Mason Mount was on the team sheet but I didn’t see him all night. 

‘Harry Kane got no service and Saka had an off day. The game was screaming out for Phil Foden. He could have changed the game. Maybe it was the warning shot we needed not to be complacent. I think we will beat Wales but they will be right up for it.’ 

Georgia, 22, Lewis ,23, and Prem, 22, all support different teams normally but have come together at the Courtfield in Earl’s Court to watch the England match. They weren’t impressed with the first half performance. Lewis, an Arsenal fan, said: ‘It didn’t go very well. It was quite boring.’ But he’s still convinced England will lift the trophy: ‘It’s coming home.’

David Kakauridze, 31, said: ‘England were not dominating the game and so I think it was not the best outcome for them. I think they are saving their powers until the next game because the championship is long. I’ve been a big England fan since my childhood. I’ve been a fan since I was 10. I hoped they would win.’

At the Albert Hotel sports bar in Hull bar, worker Kieran Cooper, 24, expected typical Friday night sales to double.

He said: ‘It’ll be packed in here tonight. We’ve got the biggest screen around. We’ve made sure we are fully stocked so we don’t run dry. We’ll easily shift 600 pints tonight.’

One Wales fan Leonard Clarke, 36, had even switched his allegiances after watching  his side fall 2-0 to Iran.

The roofer, a Liverpool FC supporter, said: ‘I’m on the JD and cokes trying to forget about it. We were terrible today.

‘Wales are all but finished so I’m supporting England now. I reckon they’ll win 3-0 – Sterling will score, John Stones will net a header and Bellingham will get one, too.’

More than 8,000 England fans were inside the Al Bayt stadium tonight in the hope of helping roar England to victory.

Among them was Alice Pickett, 34, from Oxford, who said: ‘This is my first World Cup and it is an amazinbg feeling to be here. We are actually going to see Harry Kane and the boys play in the World Cup. The atmosphere is amazing. There is a bit of tension. But we’ll be alright when the final whistle blows.’

Lottie Roscoe-Macey, 24, from Southampton who had her face painted in St George colours and waved her flag, added: ‘When you think most of England would love to be here, you begin to realise how lucky you are. This is such an amazing event. There is no hint of trouble and Qatar has been incredibly friendly.’

The paramedic added: ‘We win tonight and we will go all the way. It is coming home!’

Kate Prescott, from Manchester said: ‘I am so thrilled that Marcus Rashford is back on form and scored the other night. He is back bang on form and if Gareth Southgate picks him or brings him off the bench again, he will score again. I might be a little biased as I am a Man United fan. But he is an exceptional player as are all the team.’

Richard Mills, 45, a quantity surveyor from St Albans, said: ‘We can be world beaters. Our team have the passion and the skills.

‘Okay they hadn’t been playing that well prior to coming to Qatar, but if you look at the way we thrashed Iran and scored six goals, that should be a warning to the Americans. Wales got beat today by Iran and the Welsh have some accomplished Premier League players.’

Chris Lirola, 31, from Florida and a tournament winning tennis player, said: ‘I have bet my friend from London that we will beat England. If we lose, I have promised to give him a few hours of lessons on his weak backhand.

‘But if England wins, then I’ll take him out for the best curry next time I am in London. But it is going to be a night that belongs to the US.’

Sam Pattenden, 35, said he’d taken off work early to get to the game. The Tottenham said he was a football coach in his spare time and predicts England will win 3-0.

‘It’s good for English football and we put in to grassroots.’ I just left work early. I’m the manager so…’

Craig Blackburn, 36, said he had booked a half day off work two weeks ago to get to watch the game. I booked half a day, out of my work day. Officially I was working from home. I booked the day about two weeks ago after we booked tickets for the venue.’

Charlotte Dean, 28, and Matthew Traher, 31, who both work for Tesco, were in Victoria Station in London. They said they were so dedicated they’re watching it on the coach journey home to Bournemouth.

In Newcastle’s Central Park fan zone Kevin Smith, 41, an overhead linesman from said: ‘I’ve already drank 15 pints and I plan on drinking another 15. We’ll be out all night. I’m on the sick from work which is how I came here early. I’m off with a bad knee so it doesn’t affect my ability to drink.

‘We’re going to win the whole tournament. It’ll be us against Brazil in the final and we’ll win.’

Liv Fuller, 25, a town planner from Surrey, travelled to the North East city to watch the game.

She said: ‘I went to Newcastle University and we were planning a reunion and it just so happened to coincide with the match. This has been booked for ages, I have the full weekend off. The atmosphere in Newcastle is so much better than in Surrey, that goes without saying. I’ve had two drinks so far but I’ll be out for the night. The Toon will be buzzing.’

Rachael Thomson, 36, a nurse from Newcastle said: ‘It’s my birthday and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate it than watching the game.

‘I took the afternoon off work, I didn’t want to get stuck on shift and miss anything.

‘My partner suggested coming out for my birthday and I jumped at the chance.

‘I love football and am a huge England fan.’

Casey Bishop, 39, has even quit his job at Northumbria University in Newcastle so he doesn’t miss a minute of the football at home or in the pub.

He said: ‘I would have been so miserable stuck at work. I’m a massive football fan, and I just couldn’t imagine not being able to watch them. 

‘Morally I felt as though I couldn’t go [to Qatar]. I’ve always been against it but when I heard about the atrocities and the human rights record. I couldn’t give my money to them. I have also heard from mates over there they are paying £16 for a pint of beer so I’m glad I made that decision’.

Mr Bishop has a new job lined up for the new year – and his last boss kindly halved his notice period to two weeks so he could leave just as the World Cup began.  He is watching the matches at the pub, fan zones and at home.

Earlier city and town centres were empty by Midday as England fans rushed home or to the pub – if they were not on the sofa already.

Bosses were also letting staff leave early after experts said there has been a massive increase in sickies. 

Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions take on their transatlantic rivals at 7pm tonight – but 5,000 supporters are already partying in Doha with millions starting early at home.

An England win will see the team qualify before playing Wales next week, with the Welsh dragons needing to win to have any hope of going through.

Football-mad workers in the UK have been throwing ‘sickies’ at record rates so they can watch World Cup matches, employers are claiming. Businesses have been flocking to legal advisers amid concerns staff are taking rogue days off, with today unlikely to be any different give the magnitude of the two matches.

Wales fans were in the pub for breakfast and some pints this morning ahead of the early kick off. And with four matches this Friday, many will make a day of it,

But the team fell flat – and lost 2-0 in the crunch game.

An estimated 10,000 English and Welsh fans are in Doha for the matches and were drinking late into the night last night ahead of their games today.

Some have spent their £50,000 life savings to be in Qatar where a chicken burger and a pint is costing fans £50.

Gareth Southgate’s England have their fate in their own hands and will qualify from the group stages a game early if they beat the Americans at the Al Bayt Stadium. Around 5,000 Wales fans are in Doha. 

Gutted Wales soccer fans are begging old enemy England to ‘do us a favour’ on Monday night and it’s their only hope of staying in the World Cup.

Gutted Wales soccer fans are begging old enemy England to ‘do us a favour’ on Monday night and it’s their only hope of staying in the World Cup.

They were crying in their beer in the Welsh valleys after Iran scored two injury time goals to leave Gareth Bale’s Dragons on the brink of going out of the tournament.

Wales need England to beat the USA so they won’t need to win in the final match of the group stages.

Lifelong Wales fan Rhys Williams, 31, said: ‘We want England to do us a favour on Monday – it’s our only chance.

‘If they rest a few of their players and we play well then who knows. But even then we would have to score a few goals.’

Rhys, a register officer at the University of South Wales, was left gutted after watching the match at the New Crown pub in Merthyr Tydfil.

He said: ‘We have relied too much on Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey and their powers are waning.

‘The result has sucked the life out of us but it won’t stop the Welsh fans enjoying Monday night. Who knows what could happen.’

Pals Gareth Winstone and Shaun Crane, both 49, both took the day off work to watch Wales in their first World Cup since 1958.

But their hopes were dashed when Iran took control of the second half and knocked in two goals in the dying seconds.

Insurance underwriter Gareth, of Tredegar, said: ‘It’s a sickener but in the end we weren’t good enough. You can’t argue with the result.’

Sales executive Shaun, of Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, added: ‘Our superstars Bale and Ramsey aren’t playing regular football and we have Championship players out there.

‘Iran are managed by a coach who was at Manchester Utd so he’s no mug. It’s disappointing but bring on England.’

The Crown run by Portuguese businessman Jorge Dascensao(CORR), 47, is bringing in soccer fans with an online invitation saying: ‘Don’t go to Qatar, come to the New Crown, the beer is cheaper and you definitely won’t go to prison for singing too loud.’

Roofer Craig Thomas, 29, of Rhondda, is dreading playing against Harry Kane’s men in the final group match next week.

He said: ‘They hammered Iran and look at the top of their game while we are not performing.

‘All we can hope is that England do us a massive favour by not turning up on the night.’

Fans who turned up to watch the game on TV at Gareth Bale’s pub Elevens in Cardiff city centre were disappointed – it didn’t open until midday.

But there were plenty of watering holes open across Wales including the Lion pub in Treorchy where the atmosphere was ‘buzzing’ until goalie Wayne Hennessey was sent off and Wales let in two sucker goals.

England fans in Qatar BANNED from dressing up as St George for World Cup match against USA because the Crusader outfit is ‘offensive to Muslims’

England fans dressed as Crusaders have been turned away from World Cup matches in Qatar as their costumes are deemed ‘offensive to Muslims’.

Two fancy-dress knights were allegedly seen on social media trying to get through security before England’s match with Iran on Monday while wearing chainmail and helmets bearing the St George’s Cross.

It is claimed that the pair, who were also carrying novelty swords, were escorted away by four officers at the security gate before kick-off.

And a similar experience could be in store for those attending tonight’s match against the USA, with the Times reporting Three Lions fans have been banned from dressing as the Christian invaders. 

It comes as England fans, who have long supported the team bearing the garb of St George – the nation’s patron saint – at previous World Cups, find themselves in trouble for doing so this time around.

FIFA and anti-racism groups say dressing up as Crusaders in an Arab country such as Qatar could be seen as offensive given the historical context.

Some Doha residents appear to have been upset by the choice of outfit, given the religious wars between 1095 and 1291 were about taking land and holy sites under Islamic control.

One of the crusaders spoke to TalkTV after England’s 6-2 win over Iran on Monday. 

The man, who was not named, said: ‘The problem is in places like Qatar, the fans are the essence of the game. We are what makes the game. 

‘It’s not the corporates, they help financially in the background, it’s us the fans that make the football and we are the football’. 

He said that they were staying in the fan park paying £250-a-night. 

FIFA said: ‘Crusader costumes in the Arab context can be offensive against Muslims. That is why Anti-Discrimination colleagues asked fans to wear things inside out or change dress.’

Kick It Out, the anti-racism campaign group in football said: ‘Certain attire, such as fancy-dress costumes representing knights or crusaders, may not be welcomed in Qatar. 

Researcher Robert Carter tweeted: ‘The attire, complete with swords and crosses, is offensive due to crusader history of rape, slaughter and occupation of Arab lands.’

But some England fans in Qatar pointed out that a cheering Saudi Arabia fan was apparently allowed to wave a real three-foot long scimitar in jubilation among crowds outside the stadium after his team’s shock win over Argentina.

The best-known Crusades took place between 1096 and 1291 when Christian armies fought to seize Jerusalem and the surrounding area from Islamic rule.

Footage from Qatar before and after the England game showed the one group dressed up as knights singing God Save the King and storming up the stairs on public transport. Some locals appeared shocked by their choice of outfits – others asked them to pose for selfies. 

Meanwhile, bars in Doha are demanding fans wearing traditional Arabic robes and headdress remove them over fears it offends locals and insults Islam.

The clothing has become popular among fans and is being widely sold in the team colours of the 32 nations playing at the tournament.

The latest incident follows days of mounting criticism for the Qatari police’s forceful handling of fans as the row over LGBT symbols rumbles on in the Gulf state.

Qatar officials have repeatedly stated ‘all are welcome’ at the World Cup, despite the fact same-sex relationships remain illegal in the country.

England and other teams planning to wear the ‘OneLove’ armbands to make a statement against discrimination during the World Cup in Qatar were also said to be ‘blackmailed’ with the looming threat of ‘massive sporting sanctions’.

Fans and journalists from multiple nations have reported rainbow-themed items, including t-shirts, bucket hats and flags, being confiscated by officials.

Despite FIFA’s insistence that ‘all are welcome’ in the Gulf state, fans, journalists and LGBT groups have all faced an authoritarian-style crackdown with rainbow attire confiscated at stadiums.

The sale of beer was also banned at stadiums in a stunning 11th-hour about turn by Qatari officials – leaving many fans fuming and FIFA red faced.

The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani demanded all visitors ‘respect our culture’, with fans expected to fall in line with the Gulf state’s rules and cultural practices.