- Title: England fans ecstatic with 1-0 win over Croatia at Wembley
- Date: 13th June 2021
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JUNE 13, 2021) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR SHOT OF WEMBLEY TAVERN BAR IN WEMBLEY, LONDON VARIOUS OF ENGLAND FANS CELEBRATING RAHEEM STERLING GOAL INSIDE BAR (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENGLAND FAN, RHYS BROWN, SAYING: "Mate, I'm really happy with the team. Gareth (Southgate) made the right choices. I'm really happy with the team. Great performance from the lads. Hopefully, we can bring it home this summer, you know what I'm saying, mate!" VARIOUS OF FANS LEAVING WEMBLEY STADIUM AND WALKING ALONG THE OLYMPIC WAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENGLAND FAN, DALE JARVIS SAYING: "Well, the performance wasn't there yet, but it's going to take time to settle into the routine, isn't it. So yeah, a win is a win. You'd take that if it was a final, wouldn't ya, and a performance like that so, yes!" FANS LEAVING WEMBLEY STADIUM (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENGLAND FAN, JACK BIRCH, SAYING: "Our midfield is unbelievable. We run the show, possession-wise, we did it. We need to do that more in the competition. Against Romania, I didn't see much of that, but still, we are coming home tonight we are coming home!" VARIOUS OF ENGLAND FANS CELEBRATING FULL TIME AND THE 1-0 WIN OVER CROATIA INSIDE BAR (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENGLAND FAN, JOEL HALL, SAYING: "For now, let's just enjoy the moment. We've got a lot of people here, a lot of people celebrating right now. It's a great day to be an England fan. Just amazing, do you know what I mean? Just a really solid performance. I loved every second of it." CROATIA FANS AND ENGLAND FANS SHAKE HANDS COUPLE IN ENGLAND HATS CELEBRATING
- Embargoed: 27th June 2021 19:14
- Keywords: Croatia England Euro 2020 European Championship Wembley Stadium fans
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Europe,Soccer,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA001EH8ILA7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: London erupted as elated fans celebrated in pubs and the streets outside Wembley stadium where England opened their Euro 2020 campaign with a 1-0 win over Croatia on Sunday (June 13).
Fans praised manager Gareth Southgate's intuition and the squad as they marched to a solid start to the tournament.
"Gareth (Southgate) made the right choices. I'm really happy with the team. Great performance from the lads. Hopefully, we can bring it home this summer, you know what I'm saying, mate!" one fan, Rhys Brown, told Reuters.
"It's a great day to be an England fan. Just amazing, do you know what I mean? Just a really solid performance. I loved every second of it," another fan, Joel Hall, said.
Roared on by a noisy 22,500 crowd -- a quarter of Wembley's capacity -- they started full of bright intentions and put huge pressure on the visitors.
The only goal of the night came from Raheem Sterling who was a surprise starter after a flat end to the domestic season but a favourite of Southgate.
The game lacked the jeopardy of the teams' 2018 World Cup semi-final, won by Croatia, and losing on Sunday was no disaster for the Croats given the way the draw pans out.
However, it was a morale-boosting victory for England as they set off once again in search of their first title since 1966.
(Production: Paul Hardy, Oliver Regan, Kurt Michael Hall) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
