England and Wales came to a standstill last night as their heroes went head to head in the Battle of Britain.
An estimated 20 million TV viewers tuned in to the BBC to watch the crucial do-or-die World Cup match in Qatar.
Rush hour came early as workers clocked off to settle down and cheer on their teams.
Pubs and bars were packed as fans enjoyed the first-ever home nations World Cup clash.
An estimated 18 million pints were sunk as the crunch match took place at the 45,000-capacity Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
Fans started queuing at lunchtime to get into Boxpark sites around London in Shoreditch, Wembley and Croydon.
Venues with big screens in Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester also had huge crowds for the eagerly-anticipated game.
England fans began boozing in Newcastle ’s legendary Bigg Market from 10.30am.
By kick-off time it was standing-room only in the area’s pubs as tension gripped the nations.
Steve Handley, 45, from Gateshead, said: “I was too nervous to watch on the telly at home. I needed to be with other fans.
“It doesn’t matter that it’s a Tuesday night, I can handle a hangover in the morning, it’s all about the footy.”
England and Wales supporters mixed peacefully in Nottingham’s Market Square before the big match. Student Danielle Hughes, 20, from Swansea, said: “I was a bit nervous wearing my Wales top but everyone has been friendly.
“There’s been some banter but I don’t mind that. It’s part of being a Welsh fan in England I guess.”
On the Kirby Estate in Bermondsey, South East London, St George’s flags were draped between tower blocks.
The red and white displays have become a tradition, with the area regularly being dubbed the most patriotic in England.
There were similar scenes in Wales, where flags flew proudly from homes and pubs across the country.
Thousands of supporters packed into city centre bars in Swansea and Cardiff ahead of the game.
Aled Young, 43, from Mold, North Wales, was at The Turf pub in Wrexham. He said: “It’s been electric here for the games, I was here for the USA game and would not have missed this one for the world.
“We are just so proud of the boys it kind of doesn’t matter what the result is, we’ll be partying into the night.”
In Oswestry, Shrops, which is five miles from the Welsh border, fans had a choice of pubs to watch the match in depending on their allegiance.
Alasdair Henry, 25, from Pontypridd, South Wales, said: “We’re here working but we were not going to miss this for the world. The banter has been flying around with the boys on site.”
In Cardiff, an O’Neill’s pub caused controversy by banning England fans from watching the match.
But by yesterday morning they had reversed their bizarre decision following an outcry from supporters.
Ffion Gee, 32, from Cardiff, was one of thousands of Welsh supporters hoping for a miracle result.
She said: “It has been amazing seeing Wales at a World Cup. We always had to pick a random team in the past, or who England were playing against, just to wind them up.”
The match was win-win for landlords, with takings up 40%, boosting the hospitality sector by £75million.
Simon Emeny, the boss of pub chain Fuller’s, said: “There’s no better place to watch than in a pub,” he said.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he would be supporting the Three Lions, but hoped both teams could advance “as far as possible” in the competition.
Schools were braced for bleary-eyed children this morning after millions of kids stay up late to watch the game.
More than 10% of workers are due to take a day’s holiday – or a sickie – today to nurse their sore heads.
Thirsty fans sweat out clash in Tenerife
Thousands of England and Wales fans shunned the oppressive heat of the Qatari desert to have some fun in the sun in Tenerife.
Supporters flocked to the Canary Islands to avoid Doha’s strict booze laws and soaked up the historic clash in temperatures of 27C. Three Lions fan Eden Higgins went with pals Josh Johnson, 25, Reece Johnson, 27, and Liam Laraba, 28.
The lifeguard, 19, of Pontefract, West Yorks, said: “We couldn’t go to Qatar, it was too expensive. And it was raining at home.
We got here for the USA game and we leave after the Wales game. It’s been great.” England fan Mark Clare, 57, from Stretford, Gtr Manchester, said: “We came last week and it’s been fantastic. I We’ve watched four games every day, we haven’t missed a thing.”
Wales fan Cai Mays, 26, from the Rhondda Valley, said: “We had to be here – everyone is here.” Red Dragons supporters packed the Costa Adeje area for last night’s game and more than a dozen riot officers and vans were on patrol. Spanish police had ordered a “special security operation” after violent clashes at the weekend.
Drunken brawls on Friday before England’s clash with the USA had sparked concerns of there being riots.
