The child model and aspiring actress who melted the hearts of the nation after crying tears of joy when England’s Mason Mount gave her his Three Lions shirt believes that the footballer may have recognised her from a past encounter and exclaimed: ‘It was a dream come true.’
Belle McNally, 10, sobbed uncontrollably after Mount walked off the pitch and into Wembley Stadium following his side’s extra-time win over Denmark in the Euro semi-final – and handed her his jersey.
Video showed Belle, who plays football for Glebe FC, turning around open-mouthed to her sports choreographer father Tom McNally and crying into his shoulder. The heartwarming clip was originally shared to Facebook by another fan and has been viewed more than two million times.
Belle, a model for top labels including Burberry, has now revealed that she believes Mount may have recognised her from an encounter on a motoway a month ago, as she and her father saw the bus team on its way to Wembley for the Group D opener against Croatia.
She reportedly filmed while driving past – and was overwhelmed when Mount apparently waved back at her.
‘After we saw him on the team coach, it made me really want to see him again at the game,’ she told the Sun. ‘I thought it was really nice of him to smile and wave as we drove past so dad and I made an England flag for the Denmark match and wrote his name on it with love hearts.
‘Luckily he saw it and came over and everyone knows what happened next. It was a dream come true and I just want to say thank you to Mason for what he did and good luck to the team on Sunday.’
Her father, a sports choreographer who has worked with Premier League clubs and whose £1.25million Bromley mansion made headlines earlier this year, said that his daughter is on ‘Cloud Nine and hasn’t taken the shirt off since he gave it to her’.
Speaking after the game, Mount said it marked a ‘special moment’ for him as well and said ‘to see reaction from Belle topped it off for me. That level of support really means a lot’.
Belle McNally, 10, sobbed uncontrollably after Mount walked off the pitch and into Wembley Stadium following his side’s extra-time win over Denmark in the Euro semi-final – and handed her his jersey
Video showed Belle, who plays football for Glebe FC, turning around open-mouthed to her sports choreographer father Tom McNally and crying into his shoulder
Speaking after the game, Mount said it marked a ‘special moment’ for him as well and said ‘to see reaction from Belle topped it off for me. That level of support really means a lot’
Pictured: This is the adorable moment Mason Mount handed his England shirt to young Belle McNally in the crowd at Wembley – and she bursts into tears as she hugs her dad in excitement
The aspiring actress revealed she had ‘bunked off’ school to make the trip to Wembley and wrote on social media: ‘Had the best day ever at Wembley. Thank you Mason Mount.’
Mr McNally made headlines in February after it emerged that he was selling his five-bedroom, four-bathroom house in Orpington – dubbed the ‘footballer’s mansion’ – for £1.25million.
The property is any sports lover’s dream, with its own indoor pitch featuring a ‘pinball-style’ target system, as well as a cinema room, gym, jacuzzi and sauna. Footage of its mind-blowing features was posted on video-sharing app TikTok by 20-year-old influencer Summer Newmann.
Since the video went viral, Belle has shared photos and videos from her time at Wembley on her social media.
Before the match, Belle told ITV News she was ’11 out of 10′ excited and predicted a 3-0 win for England. Her father also shared the footage online and said it was the ‘stuff dreams are made of’.
England’s footballers ended their 55-year wait for a major final – and are just 90 minutes from Euro 2020 glory. More than 66,000 people – joined by Prince William, Boris Johnson and a who’s who of celebrities – packed the stands in Britain’s biggest post-pandemic crowd.
And those fans played a crucial role as they roared their Three Lions heroes home – the 2-1 semi-final win coming by way of a Harry Kane goal in extra time. Gareth Southgate’s man now face Italy on Sunday.
Belle told her social media followers that she had ‘the best day’ when she went to Wembley
Tommy McNally made headlines in February after it emerged that he was selling his five-bedroom, four-bathroom house in Orpington – dubbed the ‘footballer’s mansion’ – for £1.25million
This property (pictured) became the most-viewed home on TikTok earlier this year
The five-bedroom, four-bathroom house in Bromley – dubbed the ‘footballer’s mansion’ – is any sports lover’s dream with its own indoor pitch featuring a ‘pinball style’ target system, as well as a cinema room, gym, jacuzzi and sauna
England are one game from glory, as they now face a final with Italy at Wembley on Sunday after beating Denmark 2-1
Kane celebrates with team mates after scoring their side’s second goal during the UEFA Euro 2020 match
England manager Gareth Southgate celebrates wildly after England beat Denmark in the Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley
Traffic was stopped in central London after England’s biggest win for decades
As the victory was confirmed, shirtless fans packed into London’s Trafalgar Square fan zone sprayed beer over each other, singing ‘It’s Coming Home’ and praising manager Gareth Southgate’s team.
Vic Richards, 22, from Croydon, south London, said: ‘I’m still trying to compute what happened, I’ve never seen England make a final.
‘It’s beautiful, it’s unbelievable, I love this country, the players gave it their all. This is an historic occasion, we may never see this again – now we can start to believe.’
Other fans collapsed onto the ground crying with joy or partied on the tables. Oliver Ways, 28, from Mitcham, said: ‘This time it’s coming home, the momentum is with us, I don’t care what anyone says. I’m so drunk but I don’t care – the game was just how we wanted it.
‘I can’t believe I’m saying this but England are in a final!’