England fever is overwhelming Dusseldorf ahead of the Three Lions' Euro 2024 quarter-final clash against Switzerland on Saturday evening.
Gareth Southgate's side have yet to set the tournament alight and scraped into the final eights teams with an extra-time win over Slovakia. Supporters' spirits have been anything but dampened however with the England faithful rushing to Germany amid a mad scramble for tickets.
Dusseldorf's old town transformed into a 1980s disco on Saturday, as English voices bleated out Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love”, Dexy Midnight Runners “Come on Eileen” and Queen’s “We are the champions". Expectations are clearly still high as Harry Kane and co look to navigate their way past the Swiss.
The enthusiasm to be part of England's journey has seen fans turn up still hoping to land tickets for the clash. Unsurprisingly they are difficult to find and don't come cheap when they are discovered.
Alan Sharpe, 53, from Stoke-on-Trent, spent the morning looking for sought-after match tickets. He said: “I’m here with a mate but we’ve had no luck with tickets so far.
“The resale websites are asking for £500. It’s legalized touting. I’ve been asking around among other England fans in case there are spares but they are like gold dust.
“Worst case scenario we’ll watch in a bar or on the big screen. It will still be a decent atmosphere. I love following England away. It’s a great laugh and it’s fun mixing with fellas from other teams.”
The desire to see the game has seen some drive overnight to make it in time to soak up the atmosphere in Düsseldorf’s Marktplatz. Sam Marshall, 24, and workmate Darren Carney, 31, both die-hard West Ham fans from Billericay, Essex, soaked up the atmosphere in.
Sam told the Mirror : “Our boss wouldn’t give us the time off, so we had to do a full shift and then race down to Dover. We got a ferry at midnight and shared the driving through the night, we got here for breakfast.
“Luckily the hotel staff were decent and let us have a room early so we could get some kip. “Now it’s beer o’clock and we’re going to make the most of it. We’re back in work on Monday morning.”
While there is plenty of focus on having a good time, attention is also at the business end of the evening. England will likely have to deliver an improved performance to beat a Switzerland team who beaten Italy and drawn with Germany.
Jude Bellingham could once again be key after sparing England blushes last time out and avoiding a UEFA ban for his celebrate. Alfie Logan, 20, from Luton, says he is pinning his hopes on the Real Madrid talisman.
The Hatters fan told the Mirror: “He’s come in for a bit of stick from you lot (the press) this tournament. But he’s scored two goals and got us out of the sh*t against Slovakia. I’m confident he’ll have a blinder tonight.
“I’m just worried about him being on a yellow. If we get through to the semis we need him playing.”
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