hese are the moments you wait for as a supporter. Yes, it was a 2-1 victory scraped together against ateam who had run of steam half an hour earlier. Yes the 94 minutes prior were riddled with moments that went from frustrating to infuriating. But to come out and win and to win likeThe turnaround inside the Arena AufSchalke is challenging to describe. The sheer shift in scale was astronomical. There had been whistles and jeers and a sense of a bubbling up, at 1-0 down and with seconds to go.
So when, before kick-off, Southgate’s name was read out over the public address system, it was booed. Then followed the lustiest rendition of the national anthem of the tournament to date.were given time to play into the game. Every positive moment was greeted with a refrain of “Ing-er-land”. Even the opening goal for Slovakia was not widely jeered, perhaps simply out of shock. But once passes started being misplaced again, the volume went up.
England fans will now say a grateful farewell to Gelsenkirchen, which is not the easiest place to get to, nor the most comfortable place to hang around in. The mood in the city was quiet, almost sedate in the buildup, a striking difference from the drunken festivities of Cologne and Frankfurt. Clearly theLogistics were much improved this time, fortunately, after lengthy but cordial discussions between the Football Association, the Football Supporters’ Association and local authorities.