Saudi fans put on brave face after World Cup loss to Poland
LONDON (Reuters) – Soccer fans in Britain reacted with shock and bewilderment after their team lost to Poland in the World Cup and then lost again on Thursday to a much-faster Sweden at the European Championship in France.
Thousands of people came out to see their team lose to the two-time world champions 1-0, but as soon as the game was over many of them rushed off to watch the other events, which left many questioning whether their team’s performance could be trusted.
“It was a real kick in the teeth,” said an elderly man waiting at the London train station for his return train to Kent. “I could barely take it and I will probably stay at home and watch it on the television.”
“If I got up I might as well watch the England game. The disappointment is there,” said a woman waiting with a friend for her train to go to Scotland.
“I hate it when they keep us waiting for 15 minutes. They were taking it for granted in the first 10 minutes,” she added.
Other fans waited for up to an hour in the hot weather for their return home. At the time of writing, there was no sign of rain.
Fans who were still on the trains came back to watch the rest of the matches on TV.
The Football Association of England (FA) said it believed its players had not performed in the first half, after what the fans described as a “lapse in concentration”.
“We have a lot of disappointment going home,” said one fan. “Even if we won we would not have played the way we played today. They could have played without the ball and got a draw. But then we would have lost. It looks like we have lost something.”
Fans said they hoped the country could overcome its footballing problems next year.
“We are a nation that is in desperate need of a revival of our footballing culture. Football is one of the key things that makes us who we are. If we didn’t really like football, we wouldn’t be doing it. We would be more likely to be the United States or Canada.”
“I just hope next year we get the chance to live that