They’re coming home! The World Cup heroes are about to land back in England after finishing the tournament in fourth place.
Gareth Southgate and his squad will arrive back at Birmingham Airport this afternoon, but there will be no fanfare as the Football Association has decided against staging a homecoming event.
This is despite the Three Lions defying pre-tournament expectations and reaching the semi-finals of a World Cup for the first time in almost 30 years.
Fans were daring to dream of a possible place in the final when Kieran Trippier curled in a sumptuous free-kick after just five minutes in Wednesday’s semi-final against Croatia.
But Southgate’s men faded, eventually falling to a 2-1 defeat after extra-time.
England are returning the day after their 2-0 defeat to Belgium in the tournament’s third place play-off in St Petersburg.
Football may not have come home, but Southgate’s young squad equalled England’s best ever performance in a World Cup on foreign soil.
For many fans, this has made the decision not to allow the public to welcome the players back perplexing.
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