101 Not Out in Nuremberg (just!)

Our 22 hour round trip to Germany started at 4.30am Thursday morning (yawn!). Our sleepy heads still reeling from the intimidatingly good performances from Argentina and Spain, disappointing performances by Brazil and France and the Ecuadorians being the surprise package of the tournament so far.

Bleary eyed, we checked in at Gatwick, bought ourselves the papers and devoured the reports about Rooney possibly playing a role in tonight's game. It was the talk of the fans waiting to board with a mixture of desperation to see him play and bring some attacking verve to the side and cautious requests to rest him until he was really needed in the later stages of the tournament.

By 10am local time over 400 fans were unloaded from the first of 5 planes into the glorious sunshine of Nuremberg and onto a coach for our transfer to the stadium. Our first thoughts about Nuremberg were clouded by the eccentric folk wandering the streets - one man with ski poles!! - and a kamikaze coach driver who ended up making one rather knuckle clenching emergency stop. Still, we made it to the coach park in time (and still alive!) and trooped off to the train station and into the town to explore.

We decided to head into the old town and steer away from the main station. As we came out of the underground we saw a group of Ecuador fans, clad in yellow, partying like they had won the World Cup itself with their first result and more than willing to pose for some colourful photos before they went to watch their game with Costa Rica. They were convinced they would be playing us in the next round after Germany had beaten Poland.

As we walked towards the old town square we were greeted by a huge snake of red and black clad Trinidad & Tobago supporters, complete with band, whistles, fancy dress and some nifty Caribbean dance moves. They were parading throughout the city and entertaining everyone with their songs and dancing. It was a mesmerising and infectious sight. Many photographs later we managed to find our way to a restaurant slightly off the beaten track for a relatively peaceful lunch.

Strolling around the town again after we had eaten and we caught up with the Trinidad & Tobago party people once again, this time having roped in the English fans to sing and dance with them. Fact - we can't dance as well as them and our songs are frankly boorish and boring compared to the wonderful songs they had. But then I guess that's not news!

As we headed down towards the main train station we realised we were right to have avoided it. In the main, the English had taken over the surrounding area and it was all very good natured with the Trinidad & Tobagan's mixing with the English as their own parade met up with them. However, there was a group of idiot Englishmen singing "10 German Bombers" and wearing t-shirts with it printed on near the entrance to the train station. It got me really riled - it's a rubbish and factually incorrect song, its offensive to both English and German servicemen and it is downright rude to sing it in a country which is being such a wonderful host to us (rant over!) Taking advantage of the fact that I'm a woman (and much against James' advice) I challenged every one I walked past who was singing the song. I couldn't stand by and say nothing.

Still seething (and ranting!) we made it to the train station and had a chat with the UK police who were present with their German counterparts and were equally as frustrated with the small minded idiots we had encountered. Still, I mustn't let that small minority detract from the wonderful party and carnival atmosphere that both sets of fans had created throughout the town and the fact that, once again, English fans were behaving themselves and moving one step closer to proving that the hooligan stereotype is outdated.

As the English fans poured onto the train some funnier songs started up: "5-1 in your own backyard, 5-1 even Heskey scored" had the Germans laughing in the aisles and the good natured banter continued right up until we reached the stadium.

The weather was still glorious and we strolled down to the initial security cordons. They seemed unusually interested in our flag (3 J's on Tour with a Saints and Villa crest on it) and it looked like they were trying to work out who the club crests referred to (I'll leave you to insert your own joke here!) Having made it into the ground it was the usual bun fight to get a place to hang the flag which eventually ended in success 5 blocks away from our seats! With still a couple of hours before kick off it allowed plenty of time to enjoy the atmosphere. Because the security and ticket cordons are a little further out from the ground, you are then free to wander the perimeter where there is food, drink, official merchandise, places to sit and big screens to watch the other games on. An excellent idea which means getting to the ground early is far more of a pleasure than a chore.

We watched the Ecuadorians beat Costa Rica making the prediction of the fans we met earlier for a second round match up with England more likely and felt the tension start to build as the ground filled up. Some Blackpool fans who we were sat behind in Frankfurt - and who we first met in South Africa on some goodwill visits 3 years ago - were next to us and soon we started talking score predictions. We all felt we would keep a clean sheet. James had gone for 3-0, me 2-0 whilst others just didn't care, so long as we won and got through to the next round. More familiar faces joined our block in the ground - a bonus of following England regularly is spotting other regular friendly faces at matches. We were in the lower tier which meant it was quite enclosed towards the back due to the fact that the sharply raked tier above effectively created a roof, and the running track around the pitch sometimes skewed your perspective of the action on the pitch.

By the time the players came out to warm up the anticipation was high. With a later kick off the expectation was that the team would finally come and lay down a marker after their poor second half performance against Paraguay. David James & Dwight Yorke - both ex Villa players - took time to shake hands and chat before the players returned to the dressing rooms and the English fans started singing with gusto. Once more, the German version of 3 Lions was played over the tannoy which got the fans fired up. And so to the game...

As ever, a game of two halves. We started brightly with some good passing moves, as we did against Paraguay, but constantly suffered from a poor final ball and seeming lack of killer instinct. I'd read the newspaper columnists views about how English fans expect the pace of the Premiership but that international football is different and tried to acknowledge the patient, possession led build up. But by 25 minutes into the first half the anxiety amongst the fans was palpable. How come we hadn't scored yet? Why can't we run at players and create chances? It might be international football, but Spain and Argentina had both played high tempo, attacking games - on this performance we weren't going to frighten anyone.

England were attacking the goal in front of us and a Crouch shot looked so certain to be going in as he struck it that the fans were mid leap for the celebratory cheer by the time we realised he had missed it. I started to remind people that this was the team that had held Sweden to a draw with only 10 men - a team we hadn't beaten in 38 years - and was told to stop sounding like Sven by getting my excuses in early. Another comment about the "Man Utd" factor, i.e. so many teams being up for playing England that they raise their game, was greeted with the comment that we were playing the equivalent of a pub side and still couldn't score a goal.

As half time approached, the early start kicked in and I realised I needed the adrenalin rush of a goal and/or a good performance for my own sake as well as the teams! At half time the mood was decidedly anxious. Not just because of the lack of goal (all tournament!) but also because the team still hadn't delivered a performance that looked like we would win the game, let alone the World Cup. James pointed out that if they came out in the second half with a blinding performance that would be what was remembered, but even that optimistic comment was met with glum and anxious faces.

England came out early for the second half. We hoped (but doubted) that Eriksson had given them a rollicking at half time. But as the second half started out much like the first there was an eerie silence in the stands, with plenty of nail biting and frustration at the performance being given. "I just don't get it", said one fan "it's clear that the players have the ability and they want it, so why are they playing like this?"

Then came the substitutions. The roar for Rooney was deafening - I wish I could have been a fly on Alex Ferguson's wall at that moment! - and the pushing on of a second attacking player in the form of Lennon was greeted with cheers but amazement at Sven's bold tactics - usually an oxymoron! Instantly we looked so much better, mainly because we had pace and were running at players creating chances. Lennon made it clear just how much pace Beckham has lost - although he is still one of the best crossers of the ball in the world. Rooney looked hungry and up for it. The fresh legs really did create the impression that we were going to score a goal - something which had not been evident before then!

15 minutes from time and I am anxious but all around me, and at the end of text messages, were saying it would be fine. 10 minutes to go. Then we scored. The ground felt like it erupted. Thunderous cries of "we're not going home" resounded round the stadium. Grown men crying around me, with sheer relief manifesting itself in many different ways. My experience of watching England fail to hold on to leads - the Paraguay game having been an exception! - sill had me nervous. Then the second went in and the place went wild. It was like a massive party in the stands. Fans jumping, singing, dancing and still crying! No-one wanted to leave the ground. The tannoy played 3 Lions again, the English fans belt out "football's coming home" and the euphoria is electric.

In the midst of the mayhem we lost our flag, got soaked in drinks and I realised my score prediction had come true! But nothing else mattered in those moments after the game except the result. Even the reflection on the bad performance earlier in the game on the walk through the park back to coach wasn't enough to dampen the enthusiasm from the exhausted hordes. All the talk was of the forthcoming Sweden game and how a draw or a loss for them would see us able to confirm our place as Group Winners and get on with booking our travel to Stuttgart. I reflected on the Italian side of 1982 - awful for the group stages then went on to win it against Brazil with a wonderful display. Did the performance really matter when we had the result? Although the thought of us creeping to the final by nicking results one nil or at the death, like the old Italian style, did have me wondering if my heart and nerves would be able to cope with that!

Fans converged on the big screens in the lounges at Nuremberg airport. We were sat there with a glass of something celebratory revelling in the fact that Sweden were drawing. Then, at the death, they get a winner. It doesn't change the fact that we are through to the next round, but it could mean our game with them on Tuesday in Cologne may see us finishing second and playing the Germans with a much trickier route in the later stages. Although Ecuador might surprise the Germans - I doubt it - so a win and a next round game against the Ecuadorians would be preferable. I'm not thinking about the potential quarter final against Argentina and semi-final against Brazil that would result in, unless Spain have beaten Brazil by then of course. Well, not much .... bring on Cologne!

And finally, the ongoing Mastercard tribute continues:

NUREMBERG FOR 2 PEOPLE
Match tickets: £62
Package trip to the game: £578
Airport parking: £20
Spending money: £24
Nuremberg Total: £684
Tournament Total to Date: £1,470
Watching England Scrape 3 points against Trinidad & Tobago to go through to the next round: priceless!

PHOTOS AT: http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/3497167