As the final whistle blew, towns and cities across the country erupted in euphoria as England secured their win against Denmark to take them through to the final of Euro 2020.
Some would say it was a story of redemption so perfect it could have been written. Almost 25 years to the day since England lost on penalties to Germany in the Euro 96 semi-finals, after a missed attempt from Gareth Southgate, on Wednesday night he took the team to victory.
“I’ve never seen this with England fans, it’s incredible. I can’t even put it into words. I can’t say anything more than it’s made my year. I can’t believe we’re in the final,” said a tearful Josh Smith, 26, in the Hockley social club in Birmingham.
“We’ve lived with so many years of getting close and when that first Denmark goal went in, I thought it was all over and now we’ve pulled it back. I can’t wait until Italy on Sunday,” said Shantie Warriyah, 51.
In the pub, emotions had been running particularly high as fans rooted for one of their own. Aston Villa captain and fan favourite Jack Grealish grew up just down the road in Solihull, and fans watching the match were insistent that the player would bring the firepower England needed to make it to the final.
“It’s going to be a tough game. But if we’re in dire straits, get Grealish on and he’ll get us through. He’s world class,” said Ronan Fox, who was sporting a number 7 Grealish shirt along with his friend, Ryan Bevan.
One of the biggest cheers of the night came when Grealish was brought on in the 68th minute as a substitute for Bukayo Saka, with the crowd chanting “Super Jack” as he took to the pitch.
Before the match, fans were broadly optimistic that England would make it through to their first major final since the 1966 World Cup win.
“I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about today,” said Warriyah early in the match. “The way England have played has been phenomenal. The nation will be singing, ‘It’s coming home’ for months.”
But after a goal from Denmark in the 30th minute, doubts began to creep in. Although England soon equalised, the game remained at 1-1 after 90 minutes and ran into extra time – as an increasingly tense crowd edged closer to the screen in tense frustration.
As England scored their second goal, thanks to a penalty from Harry Kane in extra time, the roar from the crowd was deafening.
Fans in the venue were told to stay seated as much as possible throughout the match, leaving many literally on the edge of their seats for most of the closely fought game.
But there was certainly no sitting at the moment England scored, with the crowd erupting and plastic beer cups flying through the air.
“That result is fantastic. When that final whistle went, I would be lying if I said a tear didn’t fall then,” said 22-year-old Aston university student James Hamer.
“It’s an amazing moment but, if you’re England fan, then you know we can’t get too excited until Sunday.
“It’s the first time in history we’re in the final so of course we’re ecstatic. The nerves were shot for all of us. We were nervous until the 120th minute whistle came.”
For many fans, Wednesday’s match provided an opportunity for vindication.
“I think he [Southgate] has had redemption already getting us through to the World Cup semi-finals [in 2018]. I think this is more redemption for the whole England team,” said Smith.
Fans in the pub were eager to see Grealish get his chance to play, especially after the midfielder wasn’t brought on in the quarter final against Ukraine. His cheeky down-to-earth personality and energy on the pitch have made him a big hit with fans nationwide.
“Grealish should definitely be playing more, he’s the best player on the team,” said Bevan, with others arguing he was brought on too late.
“At the beginning, there was all this speculation about whether Southgate particularly liked Grealish or not, but as things have gone along we can see, we can bring him on as that little guardian angel to get us through,” said Barr.
Many fans said they had never known a football match to generate so much excitement nationwide, and the thought of watching along with so many people across the country added to the expectation in the room.
“Although I’ve watched Villa get to cup finals, I’ve never had this feeling with England before. So many people I know said they weren’t bothered about the Euros two months ago, and now everyone is. It’s hard to find people who aren’t invested,” said Smith.
“So it’s going to be weird sharing this emotion with almost 50 million people.”
