A Gareth Southgate lookalike is “quietly confident” England will beat Senegal in the round of 16 and continue their World Cup adventure in Qatar.
Neil Rowe, 48, from Surrey, was wearing a waistcoat made famous by the England boss as he was mobbed by fans outside the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.
He posed for photos and conducted an interview with a television channel during which he answered the questions in the style of England manager Southgate.
Mr Rowe told the PA news agency: “I did this a bit in Russia in 2018 and it went a bit viral then and I thought I’d wear it again for a bit of fun. It gets a bit manic.”
On the 3-0 England win against Wales, he said: “It’s great they turned it on.
“I was at the USA game and we were a bit disappointed with that but we turned on the style a bit in the second half.
“It would have been nice if our Welsh brothers and friends could have gone through as well, but we had to do our job.”
On his prediction for the rest of the tournament, Mr Rowe said: “I always thought let’s get to the quarters and take it from there.
“So Senegal I’m quietly confident we can do our stuff against them, but then it’ll be France, won’t it, you never know.”
Mr Rowe said he has officially been a lookalike since 2018, adding: “I’ve been doing 20 years in the Barmy Army and they call me Southgate and it’s a bit of a giggle.”
Mr Rowe said he was flying home on Wednesday but hoping to return by the weekend.
