MILLIONS of Three Lions fans roared on their heroes last night as England kicked off their Euros campaign — while thousands more cheered them on in Germany.
Pubs and fan zones across the nation were rammed as supporters knocked back 30 million pints of beer.
And the first wave of England’s biggest-ever fan exodus saw 40,000 travel to Gelsenkirchen, praying for a Harry Kane-inspired goal-fest over the next month.
Only 10,000 match tickets were available for Three Lions fans as our Euros got under way with the Group C opener against Serbia.
But 30,000 more headed to Germany to soak up the atmosphere — including in a 40,000-capacity fan zone, stocked with 80,000 litres of beer and 32,000 sausages.
Back in England, fan zones and pubs across the country were packed with excited supporters.
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Boxparks at London’s Wembley, Croydon and Shoreditch were rammed — as were venues in Birmingham, Liverpool and Bristol.
Chart legend Chesney Hawkes, England’s good luck mascot from the last World Cup, made a surprise guest appearance at the Boxpark in Croydon.
He blasted out his No 1 hit, The One And Only, before last night’s match — but changed the words to get the crowd going.
Chesney, 52, told The Sun: “England are the one and only — come on boys, you can do it!”
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In Newcastle, fans braved the rain to cheer on their heroes in the city’s Times Square fan zone.
Barber Rhys Patterson, 23, who turned up more than two hours before kick-off, said: “We’re going to win the whole thing.”
In Leeds, fans massed in the city’s Millennium Square and competitive drinkers on the Otley Run pub crawl also cheered on our boys. It was the same story at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
England ace Phil Foden’s son Ronnie, five, was also urging on his old man in a Three Lions shirt and chain combo.
He captioned the snap to his four million Instagram followers: “C’mon England.”
Over in Gelsenkirchen town centre, fans belted out songs as they braved English-style rain and wind.
Retired bar boss Terry Rose, 66, from Huddersfield, West Yorks, put a smile on faces with his St George’s Flag suit and bowler hat.
Terry said: “I got it for the Qatar World Cup because everyone thought that was going to be a grim tournament and I wanted the fans to be happy. It’s my eighth tournament and we are going to win it.”
Charity fundraiser Russ Cook, 27, known as Hardest Geezer, ran 352 miles from Wembley to Gelsenkirchen for the game.
Another England fan, Nick Buckley, 33, from Surrey, said: “I am sure we are going to kick on.
“I’m backing Harry Kane to get a hat-trick early on.”
His pal Tim O’Neill, 34, who lives in Dubai, added: “It’s brilliant here. There’s a great atmosphere and everyone is enjoying themselves.”
As revealed exclusively in The Sun, strong lager was banned in the 62,000-capacity Veltins Arena to avoid trouble — but it broke out in the town centre five hours before kick-off.
At home there were no restrictions on booze sales.
Fans were able to roar their heroes on in pubs and fan zones.
Boozers and supermarkets enjoyed a £150million spending bonanza and brewery chiefs said 30million pints were downed, giving the sector a £24million boost.
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A supermarket rush saw sales of beer, pizzas, burgers, St George’s flags and even TVs soar with Tesco set to sell 33million packs of beer and cider in the coming month.
And an estimated television audience of 17 million tuned in for yesterday’s BBC coverage.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
