England fans takeover Times Square in New York City ahead of crunch World Cup match

England fans takeover Times Square in New York City ahead of crunch World Cup match England face Panama on Saturday in New Jersey, a state bordering New York, so supporters took to Times Square in the Big Apple to prepare for the massive match England fans have descended on the Big Apple ready for the big World Cup clash against Panama. Tens of thousands of supporters will be in New York by Friday, it is understood. Up to 25,000 are expected to be inside the stadium in New Jersey, a bordering state, and the rest will packing the FanFests and bars in the "city that never sleeps". Some of them have bought tickets to watch Luke Littler and Luke Humphries in a darts tournament at Madison Square Garden. The pair are expected to head out of Manhattan to watch Thomas Tuchel’s team play. Littler is a manchester-united-fc>Manchester United fanatic and Humphries supports Leeds United and both love big sporting events — they were even spotted at Cheltenham races together earlier this year. Tuchel and his squad fly down from their Kansas City base on Friday. Weather for the match is expected to be around 23C, which is cool for this time of the year. Fans travelled down from the previous England game in Boston by plane, train, car and bus. At the Port Authority bus terminal, and both Penn and Grand Central stations England fans were arriving in numbers. At the popular “Football Factory” pub - located right underneath the Empire State Building - fans gathered to watch other World Cup matches on the TV. The bar is the HQ for many Premiership clubs and sees hundreds of English fans visiting every Saturday. Mark Harrison, 63, from Bedford said: “I’ve got a ticket for the game. I’m staying with a mate who lives in Connecticut so I’ve got no extra hotel costs. “I’m in and out for this game but very much looking forward to it. I really hope we win so we top the group. I know we then potentially meet Mexico and Brazil before the semi-finals but we can beat both of them on our day.” Mark Trigg, 52, from Derby, has been to the friendlies in Florida, the victory over Croatia in Dallas and the 0-0 draw with Ghana in Foxborough. His arrival in New York with fellow Derby fan Garford Beck, 64, from London, and Portsmouth fans Ian Dendy, 56, and Ian Holland, 73, was delayed when their coach broke down. They are on an epic World Cup adventure across America, having already visited Miami and Tampa for the friendlies. Chef Mark said: "It has been a lot of travelling around but we have had a really good time and it has been interesting to see so much of America. "We flew between venues for the first two matches but the coach broke down on the way from Boston, so a four-hour journey turned into seven hours. I dread to think how much the trip has cost - I am trying not to think about it. "But I want to stay as long as England are here and we have tickets for all the knock out rounds." England fan Ian Henderson, 60, originally from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear and now living in Princeton, New Jersey, said the Three Lions supporters would enjoy the Big Apple. He said the MetLife venue, named the New York New Jersey Stadium for the World Cup, will provide a great atmosphere, as it was the most expensive ever built at £1bn when it opened in 2010. "They said the Dallas stadium had a hole in the roof which was called 'God's peephole' so that God could watch his favourite team play," said Ian, a retired medical researcher and Newcastle Utd fan. "This one is home to the New York Giants even though it is in New Jersey, and the New York Jets also use it. With a capacity of 87,000, it is going to be great for England fans." If England win they will top their group and know exactly their potential route to the final - which will be played in the same stadium as tomorrow’s match.