Millions of England fans headed down the pub tonight to see Three Lions kick off their Euro campaign with a win against Serbia. They headed to their local, to bars, clubs and restaurants, to see our long-awaited opener as rain hit many parts of the UK. A 17m TV audience was predicted, the biggest of the year so far.
Around 2m watched in 35,000 pubs across the UK or at fan zones in Leeds, Liverpool , London, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Hastings. Loyal supporters were left singing in the rain in the Times Square fan zone in Newcastle upon Tyne. There were heavy showers before kick off but retired engineer Phil Storey insisted the tournament had got off to a flying start.
"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.
" In Manchester, United fan Paul Eaton, 58, originally from Rossendale, Lancs., backed Southgate's side to go all the way. The charity worker added: "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." In the south of England, fan zones enjoyed warmer weather.
Civil servant David De.
