Millions of England supporters to witness the beat Serbia at . Despite the downpour across the UK, fans poured into pubs, clubs, and eateries to catch the much-anticipated match on Sunday. A whopping 17 million viewers were expected to tune in from home, marking the largest TV audience this year in the UK.
Meanwhile, about two million enthusiasts gathered in 35,000 pubs or at fan zones sprinkled through Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, and Hastings. In Newcastle-upon-Tyne's Times Square fan zone, die-hard fans braved the rain, belting out chants undeterred by the pre-game showers. Phil Storey, a retired engineer, was buzzing with excitement, claiming the tournament had kicked off with a bang.
"The big teams, Germany, Italy, Spain, have all started in an attacking fashion," said Phil, 64, who lives in the city. "England needed to do the same thing, to show that they meant business. And they did just that with a great early goal.
" Over in Manchester, lifelong United supporter Paul Eaton, 58, threw his full support behind England. The charity worker said: "They did so well in the last Euros, you feel like it could be their time at long last. "They have so much talent in the side, a good mix of young players like Jude Bellingham, who scored another great goal, alongside the experience of Harry Kane.
I think Southgate has done really well, I believe we can go all the way to the final again." Fans in southern England were basking in the warm weather. Ci.
