- Title: GERMANY: England fans arrive early for World Cup quarter-final against Portugal
- Date: 29th June 2006
- Summary: FAN DRINKING COFFEE FANS PLAYING CARDS ENGLAND FLAG IN FRONT OF TENTS
- Embargoed: 14th July 2006 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Germany
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVACFLNK9VWJ70ILYOVHVJBPXBF5
- Story Text: With over 100,000 England fans expected to descend upon Gelsenkirchen for their team's World Cup quarter-final against Portugal on Saturday, some have decided to arrive early to avoid the crush.
A few hundred have already put up their tents in a campsite one kilometre from the stadium to make sure they're near to the action.
"We just managed to get a cheap flight," said one fan, Jason Bale, "it was about 100 Euros cheaper than coming out the next day, so we got on a plane and here we come."
"The other places, the day before it was quite busy so it was a bit hectic being set up, so we thought we'd get here early and get all set up and ready for the weekend, " said Chris Ingram.
While one group chanted about reaching the final in Berlin, there was also time to reflect on England's progress in the tournament so far. "They've got to get their act together," added Ingram "Obviously so far they've been lucky to get to where they are, but hopefully they'll up for it on Saturday and hopefully we'll get the victory."
Meanwhile, there is plenty of time to play cards, catch up with sleep and even try and find an elusive ticket for the match.
Organisers have already expressed doubts about whether the city centre will be big enough for the huge numbers expected to arrive for the match. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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