Sports

Beers, Cheers as England Fans Go Wild over World Cup Win

Published

8 years ago

July 7, 2018

Eric

Fans back home erupted in celebration and the beer went flying as England reached the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 28 years on Saturday.

At Flat Iron Square in London, where 650 people crammed in to watch on a giant screen, the party began with beer showers and chants of “Football’s coming home” after the 2-0 win over Sweden in Russia.

Friends leapt on one another’s shoulders to belt out the song from the 1996 European Championships, an uplifting Britpop anthem of maintaining hope against precedent.

“I’ve been going thirsty to the well of pain for a long time,” said long-suffering fan Stephen Walter, 42, from north London.

“Now we’re a well-organised team, there’s a good feeling all round, the flags are flying again. The stars seem to be aligned!”

Steve Richardson, 50, a sales director from Cambridge in eastern England, said he told his 22-year-old son he would “never experience this again in his lifetime, let alone mine.

“We could actually win this. This is exactly what the country needs. I absolutely believe we will be world champions.

“I’ve seen it for 50 years and we’ve always fallen. This is it!”

– Three long decades –

The last time England reached a World Cup semi-final was at Italy 1990, when 16 of the current squad were not even born.

It was closer in time to England’s 1966 World Cup triumph than today.

Margaret Thatcher was Britain’s prime minister. Phones were coin-operated, came in red boxes and people queued to use them.

The 1990 squad starred Gary Lineker, John Barnes, Chris Waddle and Paul Gascoigne. Peter Shilton, England’s goalkeeper then, is now 68.

In Flat Iron Square, in scenes mirrored across the country, many had the England flag — Saint George’s red cross on white — painted on their cheeks, and while many men wore replica England shirts, many more stripped off in the baking 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) heat.

An air horn went off to cheers at the first appearance of the teams in the tunnel and “God Save The Queen” was belted out in a full-throated rendition.

A tight first quarter quietened the mood but the place erupted in the 30th minute when Harry Maguire headed in England’s opening goal with beer flying everywhere, gallons raining down as people roared in celebration.

At half-time, Camilla Mosley, 24, from London, said: “If we win the World Cup, I will shower in beer for the rest of the year.”

– ‘England till I die!’ –

She did not have to wait long for the next dousing when Dele Alli doubled England’s lead and the drinks went flying once again and people clambered on the tables as they bounced around in delight.

The goal triggered chants of “I’m England till I die” and as full-time approached, any nervousness evaporated and the party could really begin.

At the final whistle, people bounced erupted in wild jubilation once again, with beer, clothes, barriers and bodies tumbling to another deafening chorus of “Football’s coming home!” as flares went off and passing truck drivers honked their horns.

“I’ve never seen us so good. This is something different. The whole nation is going crazy. It’s chaos. I’ve never been so soaked in beer!” said south Londoner Tony, who turns 28 on Sunday.

Adam Clayton, 38, wearing a replica of Gascoigne’s 19 shirt from the 1990 World Cup, recalled the long wait to let rip.

“Words can’t describe it. It’s insane. I think it is actually coming home! I seriously believe so! Many a tear. We’ve had a nice run of the draw, which is right for England after the terrible times we’ve had,” the Arsenal fan said.

Public relations worker Tania Burnham, 27, said: “The atmosphere is amazing. I’m covered in beer, but I’ll take it because it’s coming home.”

AFP

Sports

Luka Modric’s World Cup Story Ends, Cristiano Ronaldo Gets Lifeline

Published

1 day ago

July 3, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

It was an emotional encounter as two of world’s best footballers; Luca Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo squared against each other in a bid to lay their hands on the coveted World Cup trophy when Portugal met Croatia in the round of 32. But after about 97minutes of play time, the World Cup story of Modric came to am abrupt end while Ronaldo gets a lifeline, proceeding to the Round of 16.

Both Ronaldo and Modric are not likely to feature in another World Cup tournament.

Portugal battled into the last 16 of the World Cup with a drama-filled 2-1 victory over Croatia on Thursday to set up a titanic showdown with European champions Spain.

In another nerve-shredding World Cup classic, Goncalo Ramos headed Portugal into the lead in the fourth minute of stoppage time before Croatia saw a last-gasp equaliser agonisingly ruled out for offside in Toronto.

Portugal’s 41-year-old superstar captain Cristiano Ronaldo had helped haul his team back into the contest, burying a 68th-minute penalty to cancel out Croatia’s 53rd-minute opener from Ivan Perisic.

Ronaldo later joined frenzied celebrations after Ramos glanced home a sensational header deep into injury time to give Portugal the lead.

But Ronaldo and his Portugal team-mates were left stunned when Josko Gvardiol prodded home an apparent equaliser in stoppage time.

Yet there was one final twist when the goal was chalked off for offside after a lengthy VAR review to the disbelief of Croatia’s players and their large contingent of fans at Toronto’s BMO Field.

After the final whistle, an emotional Ronaldo held up and pulled on a Portugal shirt bearing the number 21, a tribute to late team-mate Diogo Jota, the Liverpool star who tragically died in a car crash almost a year to the day from Thursday’s win, on July 3 last year.

“We knew it before the game. It was a so special moment. We speak today, our group, about that, the coincidence of life, it’s unbelievable,” Ronaldo said afterwards of the tribute to Jota.

“I was amazed because the situation of today. It means a lot to us, not only because we won the game, but the also the way we won the game. It was a difficult game, we knew it.”

The result ensures that Ronaldo’s incredible World Cup career will be extended for at least one more match when the Portuguese face Iberian rivals Spain in the last 16 in Dallas on Monday.

Ronaldo’s second-half penalty made him the oldest man to score in a World Cup knockout match.

Spain romp past Austria

Spain had advanced to that meeting with a scintillating 3-0 win over Austria in Los Angeles earlier Friday that confirmed their status as one of the favourites for the title.

Two goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and a Pedro Porro header sealed victory for the Spaniards, who produced their most complete performance of the tournament to advance to the next round.

Spain opened their World Cup campaign with a faltering 0-0 draw against Cape Verde, but have subsequently built momentum with each match.

AFP

Sports

Ronaldo Celebrates Saudi Pro League Win with Al-Nassr

Published

1 month ago

May 22, 2026

Eric

Al Nassr captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, has finally won the Saudi Pro League title.

They were confirmed champions on Thursday, thanks to a 4-2 drubbing of relegation battlers, Damac.

The title race had gone down to the final day after Al-Nassr dramatically dropped points against Al-Hilal the previous week.

Jorge Jesus’ side knew there could be no mistakes against a Damac side fighting for survival at the other end of the table.

Ronaldo was on the scoresheet, as his brace helped Al Nassr secure the title ahead of rivals Al Hilal.

Sports

FIFA Lists Six Females Among 52 Referees for 2026 World Cup

Published

3 months ago

April 10, 2026

Eric

FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.

Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.

“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.

“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.

“In addition, their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed.”

The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the biggest in history, with a 48-team line-up and 104 matches to be played.

There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.

“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.

AFP