Town squares and pubs were filled with thousands of football fans praying for success as England took to the field in Samara on Saturday afternoon.

Soaring temperatures were only matched by the soaring levels of expectation at the final whistle.

Drinks were thrown in the air at the Woollen Mill pub, in Darlington, with everyone breaking into song as Gareth Southgate’s men made it through to the semi-final of the competition for the first time since Italia 1990.

Hundreds of fans lived and breathed every shot, save and near miss for 90 minutes. As the final whistle blew, the pub erupted, as fans could barely contain their emotion after roaring England on.

Fans were up on their feet as the clocked ticked down and as the referee lifted the whistle to his lips everyone in the pub went wild.

The screams of joy echoed around the tightly packed pub as fans rose as one to start the celebrations.

John Robson could barely contain his excitement – dripping in sweat and beer, he said: “The atmosphere was incredible – everyone was wanting England to win and they showed it at the end. It was brilliant.”

There were similar scenes in Newcastle city centre, where hundreds of fans gathered in Times Square to cheer the Three Lions to victory.

In Middlesbrough, roads had to be closed when jubilant fans took to the streets to celebrate.

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