THE GUARDIAN
ver much-needed breakfasts involving a significant amount of sausage and pancakes, there was some serious soul-searching going on outside the Maximilian cafe on the Alten Markt of the west German city of Dortmund.
England’s defeat of the Netherlands, securing a place in the country’s first major final away from Wembley, along with a performance that for once lived up to expectations, was a source of great joy, croaky throats – and has raised questions for fans already in Germany over watching the final.
Will the loved ones back home tolerate a few more days away in Germany? Can the credit card take another hit? What would it feel like to be there when the England captain, Harry Kane, lifts the trophy and puts to bed 58 years of hurt?
“We are just having that breakfast debate,” said Reiss Gilbey, 33, a ship broker who with four friends from London had paid £900 each for a ticket for the semi-final against the Netherlands. “I received a text from my wife saying, ‘I’ll see you on Monday then’.”
“We all got the same text, actually”, said Tim Cawthorne, 42. “You can say what wonderful husbands we are.”
The initial plan, Cawthorne said, had been to just “come in and out” but England’s performance had thrown a spanner in the works. “It’s a question of how it will hit our personal net worths,” said Gilbey.
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