[ad_1]
England and Wales remain all square in ‘the Battle of Britain’ despite the Three Lions pressing early in tonight’s crunch World Cup match.
Harry Kane and his counterpart Gareth Bale led their teams out at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium before fans joined in with a rousing rendition of the national anthems.
As the action began, England had already scored a victory at kick-off with its fans outnumbering the Wales supporters by three to one inside the 42.000-seater Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions have won the last six matches against their rivals, but Rob Page’s men, led by talisman Gareth Bale, need their first win over England since 1984 and other results to go their way.
Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward saves from England’s Marcus Rashford early on in this evening’s game
Declan Rice of England controls the ball against Aaron Ramsey of Wales during this evening’s World Cup clash
The two home nations meet for their final group B fixture, with hordes of fans having made the trip and millions more watching back home.
Chants between the two sets of fans even extended to the metro, where one Canadian passenger said his country had banter with the US, ‘but not like this’.
At an investiture ceremony, the King told former Sunderland star Gary Bennett he ‘just wanted a good game of football’ when asked who he would be supporting.
Downing Street said Rishi Sunak would be supporting England, but hoped both teams could advance ‘as far as possible’ in the competition.
The Three Lions currently top the group and need just a point to guarantee their progress to the knockout stages, while Wales must win and hope for a favourable result between Iran and the USA.
England player Aaron Ramsdale’s partner Georgina Irwin in the stands this evening
Charlotte Russell, partner of Wales player Keiffer Moore, at the Ahmad Bin Ali stadium in Doha this evening
Chants of ‘Wales, Wales’ were soon met with the response of ‘World Cup winners, you’ll never sing that’ as fans gradually made their way into the stadium
A lone England fan is spotted among a sea of Welsh fans at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium this evening
England and Wales line up before the start of this evening’s Group B match, which has been dubbed ‘the Battle of Britain’
England manager Gareth Southgate and his staff line up for the national anthem before tonight’s game
England players stand for a rendition of God Save the Queen from the team’s bench
Ashleigh Behan, the girlfriend of England’s Kalvin Phillips, watches on from the stands before the start of tonight’s clash
Ria Hughes, girlfriend of Daniel James of Wales is seen before tonight’s Group B match between Wales and England
BBC commentator Alex Scott reacts prior to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match between Wales and England
Former singer Chesney Hawkes before this evening’s FIFA World Cup Group B match
England and Wales fans hold their respective nations’ flags as they wait in the stands ahead of tonight’s fixture
Stadium security staff were seen telling England’s ‘tango man’ to put his shirt back on in the stands today
Paul Gregory has become famous for taking his top off at games – but doing so falls foul of the rules in Qatar
England’s sports minister Stuart Andrew wears a ‘One Love’ armband at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
A young Welsh fan was seen celebrating after grabbing hold of a match ball that had flown into the stands
Wales fans were making their presence felt in the stands at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar
A Scottish flag bearing the words ‘Tartan Specials Est.2016’ was seen among Welsh flags inside the stadium today
In Doha, the Welsh fans were in fine voice before the game, with some England fans spotted having flags painted on their faces.
Chants of ‘Wales, Wales’ were soon met with the response of ‘World Cup winners, you’ll never sing that’ as fans gradually made their way into the stadium.
Wales fan Huw Godfrey, 50, and England supporter Amy Godfrey, who married after meeting in London 25 years ago, joked they will still be on speaking terms whatever the result.
‘The children are never quite sure ‘do we support England, do we support Wales’ so we’ll see – they can support whoever wins,’ Mrs Godfrey told the PA news agency.
One Wales fan made a last-minute decision to fly to Qatar to watch the game without telling his girlfriend.
David ‘Dai’ Jones from Pontypridd, South Wales, could not resist travelling to the game – despite receiving an ultimatum from his partner of 11 years.
An England flag displayed on the pitch before this evening’s match
England’s captain Harry Kane warms up ahead of this evening’s game against Wales at the World Cup in Qatar
Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling of England join the rest of the team on a pitch inspection before kick off this evening
The Welsh team need to win tonight’s game to have a chance of progressing into the knockout stages
Bukayo Saka (left) waves to fans as he and fellow England players warm up this evening at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
Phil Foden (right) has been named among the starting line-up for this evening’s game. He is pictured with Kyle Walker
England’s Harry Kane and Conor Coady chat to each other on the pitch before today’s crunch match
Wales captain Gareth Bale inspects the pitch ahead of this evening’s crucial Group B World Cup game
A Welsh fan lifts up a young baby in the stands at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium this evening
The two home nations meet for their final group B fixture, with hordes of fans having made the trip and millions more watching back home
The Three Lions currently top the group and need just a point to guarantee their progress to the knockout stages, while Wales must win and hope for a favourable result between Iran and the USA
England fans enjoying the build up before the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match
The 33-year-old electrician said: ‘I thought she might get over it in time, but I never would, so I made the decision to come.’
Supporters from both nations began preparation for the game early today at the Red Lion pub in Doha, which has become a popular haunt for supporters of both teams.
England fan Mick Martin, 62, from Aylesbury, said Wales are a ‘wounded animal’ but added: ‘We should be good enough.
‘If we’re not good enough to beat Wales or get a good result against Wales we really shouldn’t be here, should we?’
Wales supporter Mike Gristwood, 52, from Swansea, said he and his friends were feeling ‘slightly nervous’ ahead of the match.
‘But we’ll be singing our hearts out later and we’ll be that 12th man that gets our boys over the line,’ he said.
England fan Ian Carter, 45, who lives in Llanelli, was heading to the game with his Wales-supporting nephew James Millar and father-in-law Paul Jones after the trio flew in from Dubai.
England and Wales go down an escalator on the metro as they make their way towards the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
Chants between the two sets of fans even extended to the metro, where one Canadian passenger said his country had banter with the US, ‘but not like this’
Crowds of England and Wales fans making their way to the stadium for this evening’s huge fixture
Wales fans enjoy the pre match atmosphere prior to this evening’s historic World Cup game against England
On the decision to travel to Qatar, Mr Carter said: ‘It was over the breakfast table and we said ‘sod it, shall we just go?’ and it was a case of you’ve got the missus to talk to and stuff, but it was an easy decision – being from a Welsh and English mix, for us it was a perfect storm.’
Elsewhere, Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the UK’s football policing lead, said there had been no arrests or incidents in the opening nine days of the tournament and praised England and Wales fans for their ‘exemplary’ behaviour.
He said the lack of trouble at the Qatar World Cup, which he believed was in large part due to alcohol being less available, was a sign that ministers should resist calls to ease restrictions on drinking in UK football grounds.
It comes as police in Tenerife said they would be launching a major security operation to prevent any possible violence during the England and Wales game.
Video footage emerged of a brawl outside bars on the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands on Friday evening, with people wearing England and Wales shirts involved.
UK police fear people prevented from travelling to Qatar for the World Cup may have been involved in the incident in Tenerife but added they have yet to confirm this.
Fans head to the stadium before the massive match tonight in Qatar’s World Cup tournament
England fans enjoy the pre match atmosphere prior to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match between Wales and England at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
Facepainting was observed in Qatar as a proud fan was daubed with the St George flag tonight
[ad_2]
Source link
