Three Lions army gets ready to ROAR: 8,000 England fans pack stadium
Pride of England: Harry Kane and his men stand shoulder-to-shoulder to sing ‘God Save the King’ as 8,000 fans in Qatar stadium and millions at home sing their hearts out ready for team’s second World Cup clash against USA
- England take on the USA at 7pm and could qualify a match early if they win
- The fixture is being aired live on ITV, with coverage starting at 6.05pm
- An estimated 10,000 English and Welsh fans are in Doha for the matches
- Follow all the action on MailOnline’s World Cup 2022 LIVE blog
Harry Kane and England belted the national anthem as they fired themselves up to take on their American adversaries on the pitch.
They sang God Save The King before their crunch clash against USA as the Word Cup kicked off.
Captain Harry Kane, 29, looked focused in the tunnel before the squads came out, as a spectacular light and fireworks show heralded their arrival.
More than 8,000 England fans were inside the Al Bayt stadium in the hope of helping to roar them to victory.
Kane’s men face a tough test against the team that features a number of Premier League stars, who play at Leeds United.
An England supporter cheers ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group B football match between England and USA
‘Kick it in there’ Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Kalvin Phillips and Jack Grealish ready to score
England captain Harry Kane took in the atmosphere ahead of the match starting at 7pm
Jordan Pickford jokes with John Stones ahead of the FIFA World Cup Group B match at the Al Bayt Stadium
England fans in the stands before the FIFA World Cup Group B hoping to defeat the USA squad
Earlier fans were guided to buses from the nearest metro station for a 25-minute journey to reach the ground in Al Khor, north of Doha.
England fan Jim Noyce, 59, from Rugby, arrived on a shuttle flight from Dubai and questioned how smoothly things will run at the 68,895-capacity stadium.
He said: ‘Compared to where we were on Monday, this is a real trek.
‘The people are friendly, really happy, can’t do enough for you, I just think they weren’t expecting the number of people to come.’
England fans ahead of the FIFA World Cup Group B match at the Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
England’s goalkeeper #01 Jordan Pickford drinks water during warm up ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group B football match between England and USA
A fan of USA with a hat and USA sunglasses during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match
He added: ‘For us we’ve got no panic, we don’t go home until eight o’clock tomorrow morning so, worst scenario, we’d have to get a taxi.
‘I just wonder about the logistics of it, is it such a great idea?
‘But in general it’s everything you need.’
On whether England will follow Germany’s lead and make a stand after Fifa prevented the use of rainbow-coloured armbands, Mr Noyce said: ‘I think they’ll bide their time and pick the game they’re going to do it.
England and US supporters put tonight’s rivalries aside to pose up for a pre-match photograph
England fans ahead of the FIFA World Cup Group B match at the Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
The clash at 7pm tonight will be highly contested and expectations for another England win
England fans at the Al Bay Stadium for the England v USA match, Doha, Qatar FIFA World Cup
Revealed: Harry Kane and other World Cup captains would not even have been allowed on the PITCH if they had worn OneLove armbands
England captain Harry Kane and other World Cup captains would not even have been allowed on the football pitch if they had worn their OneLove armbands during the World Cup.
England’s football team had been planning to wear the LGBTQ+ armband along with six other European teams such as Germany and Denmark at the Qatar World Cup before the campaign was dropped when FIFA threatened to hand out yellow cards to players.
The federations of England, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had said on Monday they had been put under pressure by FIFA, who had threatened to issue yellow cards to any player wearing the multi-coloured armband.
Germany are playing Spain on Sunday, I think they’ll wear the rainbow and if Germany do, I think England will follow.’
Craig Carter, 51, and Richard Copper, 49, were among a group of four friends originally from England, and now living in Adelaide in Australia, who have travelled to watch 18 games in 10 days.
They posed for a photo together outside the Al Bayt Stadium holding an England flag containing badges of their teams including Manchester United and Leeds United.
The group noted security had appeared to have tightened since they first arrived, with Mr Carter pointing at the flag and saying: ‘They think this is a political statement.
‘They couldn’t understand why we had different badges on, we’ve got Leeds, Villa, Man U and West Ham.’
Mr Copper, originally from Birmingham, said: ‘On the whole it’s been brilliant.
‘Despite a couple of buses, the way they’ve done the metro has been fantastic, the people are fantastic, we’re staying on one of the cruise ships and that’s brilliant, it’s a mixed crowd on there, everybody is really friendly.’
The group said the restrictions on alcohol sales had not been an issue for them given their busy schedule, adding the tournament had been ‘better without it’ and no trouble seen.
Mr Copper said of England’s chances on Friday against the USA: ‘We’re going to win.’
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