‘I’m just happy we’ve made it this far’: England fans on watching the World Cup defeat unfold

The brief

The stakes couldn’t be higher. Billed as the feistiest match of the tournament, it was England’s chance to defeat an infamous rival and break a 60-year curse to secure a men’s World Cup final. But it was not to be. During a nail-biting second half, Argentina scored the two goals needed to take themselves to the final – and dash England’s World Cup dreams yet again. At the Castlefield Bowl in Manchester, fans began filtering out minutes before the game ended. More than 8,000 had packed into the music amphitheatre in central Manchester for the match, with fireworks and pink-purple smoke erupting at kickoff and after England’s first goal. Before…