England WAGS have taken to Instagram to wish the Three Lions luck ahead of tonight’s nerve-shredding semi-final clash with Croatia in Moscow.
Fern Hawkins, England quarter final goal hero Harry Maguire’s girlfriend, posted a photo to her 15,000 Instagram followers this morning, saying: ‘Today’s the day… Good luck babe. #worldcup2018 #semifinals #teamengland.’
The image showed Fern and Harry, both wearing matching England shirts with his name and number six on them, sharing a kiss following the Sweden victory.
And Becky Vardy – unofficial leader of the WAGs – posted a tender snap of her kissing husband Jamie after victory against Sweden, with a pink loveheart drawn over them, to her Instagram account.
Fern Hawkins, England quarter final goal hero Harry Maguire’s girlfriend, posted a photo to her 15,000 Instagram followers this morning, saying: ‘Today’s the day… Good luck babe. #worldcup2018 #semifinals #teamengland.’
Becky Vardy posted this photo of her kissing husband Jamie after the Sweden game on social media as she prepares for the semi final against Croatia in Moscow tonight
Model Lauryn Goodman, who is dating England star Marcus Rashford’s brother, is in Red Square to show her support – and says she is ‘excited’ about tonight’s big match
Fern Hawkins has been an ever-present in the crowds as she has supported her England hero beau through the tournament
Model Lauryn Goodman is in Russia as she is the girlfriend of Marcus Rashford’s brother.
‘This is my first World Cup game and I just feel that from the semi finals it gets real. It gets serious. I can’t wait,’ she said.
Meanwhile, back home, captain Harry Kane’s heavily-pregnant fiancee, Kate Goodland, 25, kept it simple by publishing three lion emojis to her Twitter account.
The women offered good luck messages as Moscow’s Red Square began filling with England fans – some still desperately looking to buy tickets for the game.
Around 10,000 Three Lions supporters are expected to have made the last-minute move to head to Russia and cheer on Gareth Southgate’s men.
Fans who flew in without tickets were being asked to pay up for tickets at four times the face value.
Greedy touts inside Red Square were preying on football fans by selling the best seats with a face value of £326 for £1,750.
One fan bought a ticket with a face value of around £100 for £600.
Ian Clatworthy, 33, from Solihull said: ‘I couldn’t come this far and not see the match. ‘I had a budget of £1,000 so I suppose I’ve done alright but it is a shame for the guys who won’t be able to see the game.’
Meanwjile two more supporters said they felt ‘lucky’ at only having to pay £800 each for tickets originally costing £100.
Becky Vardy, who is unofficial leader of the English WAGs in Russia, posted this photo as she flew to Moscow this morning ready for the game with the caption: ‘Come on England’
Jamie Vardy’s wife also posted this photo on Instagram as she gets ready to cheer on the boys
Meanwhile Fern Hawkins posted several Instagram videos showing her being a tourist in Russia as she joked she was ‘forever getting lost’ in Moscow
Alex Bradbury, 26, a West Ham fan, abandoned his lads weekend in Nashville and flew from the US to see the game and he and his friend fellow Londoner Robert Oliver.
The advertising executive who works in America said: ‘Its scandalous that we are being asked these prices.
‘It’s great that Rob and I have got ours but it hurts a lot to have to pay this amount of money to see your country at the World Cup.
‘It’s always the same when there’s a massive tournament and people have to and be willing to pay these ridiculous prices.
‘For me and Rob all we have ever heard about is Italy 1990 as we weren’t even born so it’s a dream to see England in the semi final.
‘This World Cup has cost us a small fortune as we had tickets for the group stages but were put off by the talk of violence and racism.
‘But since we got in last night, the Russians except for the touts have been amazingly friendly.
Alex Bradbury (left), 26, a West Ham fan, abandoned his lads weekend in Nashville and flew from the US to see the game and he and his friend fellow Londoner Robert Oliver (right)
A Russian police officer poses with a Gareth Southgate lookalike in Moscow’s Red Square
England fans mingled with supporters of Croatia, who England face for a final place
‘After watching every match at the pub and with huge regret for not coming we decided on Sunday night after a few beers that we had to do it and bought a one way flight and a hotel for 2 days all right there and then spreading the cost over multiple cards.
‘I was in Nashville on a lads weekend away and rob was sat in his local in the east village in nyc.
‘We are still working on tickets for the final while also needing to find another hotel and arrange a return flight at some point to go back to work. ‘Both of our company bosses have been more than happy for us to come to cheer on England despite us giving no notice and just getting on a plane.’
Croatian fan Igor Hazellear, 26, said: ‘ I can not afford these prices. We earn less. Indy than the English. I will watch in a bar here.’
Friends Will Carr and Dale Goulding, who made the decision to book flights last Thursday before progress was guaranteed.
Mr Goulding, 27, from Clapham Junction, south London, said the plan was to get to the ticket office early and pick up any tickets being resold through official channels, and failing that they would play the touts at their own game.
‘What the touts are doing is getting people coming to the Fifa ticket office and saying I’ll give you £50 more, knowing they can sell it to and England fan for £150 more,’ he said.
‘We are going to turn up in our England tops – we’re genuine. We are going to do what they are doing.
England fans travel out to Moscow in force for the semi-final with Croatia on Wednesday
England fans have begun arriving in Red Square ready for Wednesday night’s game against Croatia for a place in their first World Cup final in 52 years at stake
‘We are going to stand there and say, ‘any tickets, we need a ticket’, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll go to the ground.’
Mr Carr, 25, from Acomb, in York, said the pair knew they had to get to Russia for the game, given neither were alive the last time England played such a crucial tie.
‘Everyone’s believing,’ he said.
Among the first to arrive were Leeds fans Ryan Rodley, 27, and Jordan Gilmore, 29, who landed in Moscow from Manchester via Helsinki.
Ryan, who runs a scaffolding firm, said: ‘We went 1-0 up against Sweden and we were booking our flights which cost £270.
‘We didn’t know what to expect once we got here. We had no hotel and definitely very little chance of a ticket. But we had to hope.’
Jordan added: ‘This morning we paid £600 each to some Russian touts outside the official FIFA ticket office.
‘We didn’t want to risk not getting a ticket as the lines were long and nobody was giving out any information. Now we are all in and it’s going to be great.’
Jonathan Earlman, 33, another of the group who we’re sipping beer on Red Square, added: ‘It’s going to be 2-0 to England. Once we really are in the World Cup final, we’ll sea with the ticket situation. I’ve heard they are going to be around £2000 each.’