The Capri hotel stands a block away from the grandeur of Berlin’s Museum Island, home to the Pergamon Altar and the bust of Nefertiti. Its rooms are grand and this weekend you can expect to pay £400 to stay one night in a deluxe suite with a view of the city. But right now, hanging from the balcony of a penthouse veranda, is an enormous flag of St George with a legend reading: “Sunderland”, “Southside”, “Megawatt” and “Get the rave on”.
The English are coming to Berlin, with as many as 35,000 expected to be in the Olympiastadion when England play Spain in the men’s European Championship final on Sunday night. They are digging deep to get there too. Flights, if you can get them, are starting at €700 (£588) return (some with an overnight stop in Switzerland). Any kind of budget hotel is probably sold out and as for going to the game, well that’s not coming cheap either.
Ash and Curtis are father and son, and follow Nottingham Forest home and away. They paid £1,300 for their tickets to the final. Each. “We paid £700 each to go to the semi-final and we said that was our limit,” says Dad, Ash. “But then we won and we thought: ‘We have to go.’”
The pair describe England’s late dramatic victory over the Netherlands as the best atmosphere they’ve experienced, and they were among the thousands lingering in the stands after the match celebrating. Now the final and “the opportunity of a lifetime”, in Curtis’s words, to watch England win a trophy on foreign soil. Or in Ash’s words: “Curtis said to me: ‘Dad, please don’t die before the final.’”
For Patrick Nolan, also travelling with his son, James, from London, this tournament has created unique memories. “We’ve had a tournament like we’ve never had,” he said. “We’ve had our luck. It wasn’t a penalty on Wednesday night, but we got it. In the past it’s been the other way around, like Gazza’s studs just missing the ball [against Germany] in 96.”
There is a sense among supporters that momentum is building in a team that struggled at the beginning of the tournament. But there have also been several moments along the way that have made the travel and expense worthwhile. “We were in the upper tier for the Swiss game and we could see [Bukayo] Saka’s smile from there when he scored his penalty,” says Curtis. “And no one will ever forget Jude Bellingham’s goal – it’ll be like the Gazza goal [against Scotland] from 96. We’ve got players who can provide moments of madness.”
One of those players is Ollie Watkins, whose expert finish in the last seconds of the Netherlands game secured the place in the final. Talking about his goal on Friday, Watkins said he had “manifested” the moment in his mind. “Whatever you put into the universe you get back,” he said. “It’s been an unbelievable feeling. I was taken aback by the goal but I wasn’t shocked because I have full belief in myself. I manifested it and I had worked very hard to get to that point.”
Watkins praised the travelling England fans. “Their support is everything. They do have an impact on the players,” he said, his remarks echoing those made by Gareth Southgate, who has endured intense criticism during this tournament but always spoken positively of the support his team have received.
Southgate’s attentions are now on Spain, who he says have been “the best team” in the tournament. “They have won a few trophies,” he said. “They are a bloody good side. Let’s pitch it right. We have got to be perfect to win this game and we will have to find everything that we have got from within us.”
English police have commended the behaviour of England’s fans, with the national lead for football policing, chief constable Mark Roberts, saying there had been 66 arrests. “We estimate there have been about 200,000 visitor trips to Germany so far in the tournament, and the vast majority of the travelling England fans have been extremely well behaved,” he said.
“We are all now very much looking forward to the final and hopefully seeing England lift the trophy on Sunday evening. If you are in Germany have a good time, but please remember to drink responsibly, respect the local culture and don’t put yourself in danger.”
