Reporter Daniel Rees was in Colchester as England made their way to the final.

Here he explains what the atmosphere was like. 

HAVING grown up in a remote part of Aberdeenshire, Wednesday evening was the first time since 2006 I was actually in England to support them for a major international tournament.

Fifteen years ago, I watched England crash out of the 2006 World Cup against Portugal on penalties, watching the game on a tiny Sony television in a Lake District caravan park.

I can still remember a woman storming out of the neighbouring caravan as England missed three out of their four penalties in Sven-Göran Eriksson’s final match in charge as England boss.

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But five managers and 15 years later, times have and fortunes have changed irrevocably for the England national football team and its supporters.

At the Marquis pub, in North Hill, on Wednesday were scores of England fans desperate to put behind them decades of underachievement – and England’s 2-1 victory over Denmark proved to be the instant cure for 55-year drought in which England failed to reach the final in any of their previous 19 major international tournaments.

Gazette:

The atmosphere was wonderfully raucous; having long been accustomed to Scotland’s shameless schadenfreude towards England in major tournaments – typified by its regular ‘Anyone but England’ campaign – I could finally revel in the shamelessly partisan atmosphere.

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The undiluted joy at each of England’s goals, the endless renditions of “Southgate you’re the one,” and the litres of beer saturating the turf at the Marquis after England scored was quite the reminder to me of just how much England loves its football.

I joined the supporters on Head Street after the game, and although it was completely dark by 10.30pm, the atmosphere was reminiscent of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival.

With the Euro 2020 Final now only two days away, this is a heady, almost unprecedented era for England fans. To coin a phrase from a former Prime Minister, one could say that we have never had it so good.