Image source, Eddie Allcorn
- Author, Stuart Maisner
- Role, BBC News, South East
A super fan who has attended every England game at the Euro 2024 tournament said the semi-final win over the Netherlands was “the second best day of my life!”
Eddie Allcorn, from Canterbury, Kent, is now trying to secure accommodation in Berlin for Sunday’s final against Spain – which will be his 182nd England match.
Ollie Watkins’ last-minute winner against the Dutch sent England fans in the stadium, and watching back home, wild.
Speaking after Thursday’s 2-1 victory Mr Allcorn said: “Nobody wanted to leave the ground – we were just singing and celebrating and people were in tears.”
He said England fans had been singing about going to Berlin. “And now we’re going to Berlin!”
Mr Allcorn added: “I was mentally drained at the end of it.
“It was the best we’d played in the tournament so far by a mile. We deserved to win.
“Winning in the last minute was like a schoolboy dream.”
Mr Allcorn told BBC Radio Kent that the best day of his life was actually another football memory – Gillingham winning the then Division Two play-off final in 2000.
Image source, Press Association
England will now play their first final on foreign soil.
Peter Taylor, former England caretaker manager and ex-Gillingham boss, said: “We are the underdogs. But I think, player for player, we’re better.
“We have every chance of winning.”
Venues all over Kent will be screening Sunday’s big match and hoping for a much-needed boost in revenue.
Chris Michaelas, who runs Dartford Sports Bar, said: “The tournament has brought everyone together, especially with how nail-biting it has been.
“Last minute goals just make it extra special – making memories of a lifetime.”