Family loyalties divided as England and Wales meet at World Cup
England set up a meeting with Senegal in last 16 stage of the competition, after beating Wales 3-0.
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Your support makes all the difference.Families saw their loyalties divided as England and Wales met in the World Cup.
England set up a meeting with Senegal in last 16 stage of the competition, after beating Wales 3-0 to finish top of Group B.
A 1-0 win for the United States against Iran also saw them progress to the next stage of the tournament, and the defeat means that Wales have been knocked out of their first World Cup since 1958.
The crunch match dubbed the āBattle of Britainā saw some households divided for 90 minutes.
Kelly Robinson-Key, 34, is based in Carmarthenshire in South Wales and said her husband supported England while her daughter backed Wales.
She told the PA news agency that there were mixed emotions in her house after Wales were knocked out.
āI try to stay neutral as I donāt feel it would be fair on my daughter to be singled out as the only Welsh fan,ā she said.
āMy daughter was a bit sad but pleased her daddyās team won.
āMy husband is happy because he is now able to show his face at work tomorrow, but he does feel sad for Wales as he would like to have seen them through.ā
Dr Alex Craven also saw his family split, tweeting before the game: āBrief discussion in our Anglo-Welsh household about tonightās match.
āThe 5yo has declared heās going to support England, because he was born in England. The 3yo has decided to support Wales, because she wants to be a whale.ā
Dr Craven, 44, from Tutshill in the Forest of Dean, told PA that although his daughter was disappointed by the lack of whales playing, she made up for it with her outfit choice.
He said: āShe made up for it by wearing her shark-pattern beach shoes, and periodically declaring she was having a disco party ā Wales could have done with a couple of whales in the box to block those shots.ā
Dr Craven added that his Wales-supporting wife, Claire, is hopeful Wales do not have to wait another 64 years to reach another World Cup.
āNice to see England scoring good goals, but itās a shame it was so one-sided, even if there was nothing Wales could have done in the end any way,ā he said.
āClaireās pleased she guessed the right number of goals in the game. And with 48 teams qualifying next time, hopefully it wonāt be another 64-year wait for the next World Cup.
āShe says theyāll be back, just as soon as theyāve won the Euros.ā
Wales fan Gethin Mark Harris, 58, from East Anglia by way of Swansea, told PA outside the stadium: āThis is a hearts and heads story really, isnāt it?
āOf course I wanted Wales to win but England are a strong side.
āIt was a case of getting the first half out the way and trying to score some goals ā weād have to have attacked to do that ā but it didnāt work out that way.
āObviously this is 64 years in the making and this is just the start, I think, because weāve had a taste of what World Cup football is about.ā
Standing next to him was Jonathan Lowe, 58, from Cambridge, who lives in Poland.
The two met on the trip and despite supporting rival teams were hugging after the match.
Mr Lowe said: āIt was an exciting game, thereās no doubt, but football is about small margins and the first goal is critical. We definitely dominated Wales.
āI think it was a shame for Wales though. Iām an unusual Englishman ā I support all the home nations when they are playing apart from when itās against England.
āI think they lost it in the last game really. If theyād beat Iran, I think we would have seen a different Wales team tonight.ā
Wales fan Huw Godfrey, 50, and England supporter Amy Godfrey, married after meeting in London 25 years ago and joked they would still be on speaking terms whatever the result.
Speaking outside the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium ahead of the game, teacher Mrs Godfrey said: āThe children are never quite sure ādo we support England, do we support Walesā so weāll see ā they can support whoever wins.ā
Mrs Godfrey said she believed England would win 3-1 while her husband, laughing, predicted āa good experienceā.
Mr Godfrey, who works in audiovisual, said: āI think to have England and Wales playing each other in a World Cup finals is fantastic and Iām glad theyāre in the same group, and weāre able to attend this game tonight.ā
Mrs Godfrey added: āI was a bit disappointed and itās a shame they werenāt separate and we could have gone a bit further (in the tournament), but Huw is just happy for the occasion.ā
She also said: āWe will be talking at the end of the game.ā