YOU'D have thought England had won the World Cup, not just their opening group game at Euro 2020.

"Football's coming home!" bellowed the crowd watching the match on a big screen at Spark:York, raising their arms in triumph as the final whistle blew on the 1-0 victory over Croatia. A spontaneous chorus of 'God Save The Queen' erupted, followed by foot stamping and chants of 'Eng-er-land, Eng-ger-land!"

"It was absolutely brilliant!" yelled Charlie Charnock above the noise. Charlie, sporting a Gascoigne No 8 shirt, had spent much of the second half conducting the crowd in chants of 'Eng-er-land' - not least following Sterling's 57th-minute goal.

So how did he rate the game? "10/ 10!" he yelled.

As a venue, Spark had been brilliant, too, he added. "Fantastic atmosphere!"

"Kalvin Phillips played out of his skin!" added Charlie's friend Ryan Frank. Not to be outdone, their mate Will Lewis insisted on chipping in, too. "Unbelievable! It's coming home!" he said.

Asked how far they thought England would go, the three calmed down a little, however. "Semi-final?" said Charlie, before bursting into another 'football's coming home!".

York Press:

Fans at Spark raise their arms in triumph as the final whistle blows 

Pubs across York were showing the big game live - not least the Red Lion, just next door  to Spark on Merchantgate, which had turned its pub garden into a viewing area.

At Spark, where a big screen had been erected high above the central courtyard, the start of the second half was fairly low key.

With a vintage clothing sale going on upstairs, many fans in the roped-off area of the courtyard reserved for those watching the game didn't even seem to realise it was under way again at first.

But that all changed once Sterling latched onto a perfect pass from Phillips to slot home the winning goal on 57 minutes.

From that moment on, every touch of the ball by an England player was greeted with roars, and yells of 'get in!' or 'it's coming home'.

"England will go far!" Ryan predicted after the final whistle.

Let's hope so...

York Press:

Fans watching the game in the beer garden of The Red Lion on Merchantgate