Following months of build-up, excitement reached fever pitch across the nation last night as England prepared to play their World Cup opener against Tunisia.
Pubs and bars were braced for an influx of punters, while retailers saw TV sales rocket.
But things were rather quieter in Volgograd, Russia – where Gareth Southgate’s side will begin their campaign.
As few as 2,000 England fans are expected to attend tonight’s game at the Volgograd Arena, which can hold 45,000. It is the smallest England crowd for a World Cup in recent times.
England fans have been trickling into Volgograd ahead of the opener against Tunisia on Monday
Among the 2,000 will be British soldiers who have defied military bosses by travelling to Russia for the tournament. Some troops have ignored warnings from the Ministry of Defence about a possible security risk posed by the country to serving personnel.
It comes amid heightened tensions between Britain and Russia in the wake of the poisoning of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal in March. Police officers have also been warned against going, The Daily Telegraph reported.
One soldier who had made the journey said: ‘The Ministry of Defence didn’t want me here. They told me not to come. As a serving soldier there are certain countries that if I visit I have to tell my superiors. Russia is one of them.’
The lack of England fans in Russia could also be put down to fears over football hooligans in the country.
According to the Football Supporters’ Federation, just 2,100 tickets were sold to England fans for the opening game, which kicks off at 7pm. In comparison, 5,000 England fans travelled to Manaus for the opening match of the Brazil 2014 tournament.
In 2010, more than 7,000 supporters went to the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, South Africa, to watch their side’s opening World Cup clash.
The fan fest zone in Volgograd will play host to a horde of travelling England fans on Monday night
England fans enjoying a local beer in the build-up to the big occasion in Volgograd on Saturday afternoon
And 50,000 travelled to Frankfurt in 2006 for England’s match against Paraguay. Yesterday afternoon there were just a few England fans milling around Volgograd’s city centre. Despite the tensions, England fans in Volgograd, which is 560 miles south of Moscow, last night said they were looking forward to the tournament.
Retired taxi firm owner Tom Trueman is attending his sixth World Cup having seen Bobby Moore lift the trophy at Wembley in 1966, and said he had ‘no second thoughts’ about it.
A view of the 45,000-seater stadium Volgograd Arena in the city formerly known as Stalingrad
Warehouse manager Paul Elliott, 46, from Coventry, West Midlands – which is twinned with Volgograd – said: ‘People said we were mad to come here with the threat of trouble.
‘But I’m here with a beer in my hand and a smile on my face.’
Meanwhile, back in the UK the British Beer and Pub Association has predicted that England fans will drink 14million extra pints at the pub during the World Cup group stages.
And Argos said it had seen sales of 65in TVs jump by nearly 200 per cent in the run-up to the competition.