Inside the stadium where England fans rode the World Cup rollercoaster

Wow! What an extraordinary day. It demonstrated perfectly the real highs and lows of World Cup football. And it was a day when the fans' boos finally turned into booze as the travelling army of England fans left the stadium to party long into the night. It was a bizarre and surreal day which started with meeting four dedicated Scotland fans, all wearing team shirts, supporting Congo. And it ended with an 30,000 strong travelling army of England fans bellowing Wonderwall as captain Harry Kane and the whole sqaud joined in as they stood in the goalmouth at one end of the Atlanta stadium. The karaoke didn’t stop there. As the players left the pitch the stadium DJ put on all the old favourites. We had the classic anthems Sweet Caroline, Hey Jude, Get by with a little help from my friends and Don’t Look Back in Anger. I think the fans were singing as much out of sense of relief. I can’t remember ever hearing an England team being booed so loudly when the first hydration break came. I’ve seen some appalling England performances over the years the Iceland defeat in Euros 2016 and a 0-0 draw against Wales in the Home Championships in 1981 immediately spring to mind. There was huge booing at them but I don’t recall it ever being as loud as it was at the 22nd minute today. But that’s all forgotten now. The result was all that mattered. As I walked back to my hotel I saw fans, desperately looking for shade, on their mobiles booking flights and hotels for Mexico City. The heat is oppressive - searing temperatures that it was such a relief to enter the air-conditioned stadium which is located downtown. The stadium is absolutely fantastic. Escalators take fans up to their seats. You can order Japanese sushi and in the press room, we were offered free popcorn. Of all the stadiums I’ve been to I think this was my favourite. They’ve thought of absolutely everything - including a designated prayer area. As I walked out back to my hotel I did wonder if Thomas Tuchel may have slipped in there for a few minutes at half-time! England boss Thomas Tuchel, speaking to the BBC after the match, said: "We would have liked it (to be less stressful), but if everyone gets what he likes, then everyone gets an early goal, and another goal, and an easy afternoon. "That's not how it is. You have to deal with the situations as they come. After the first water break, there were three, four, five, big chances we had, I think a penalty situation maybe in our favour, and we kept knocking. Kept knocking, knocking, knocking to crack that rock and to make it happen. "Their goalkeeper had unbelievable saves, so it got more and more difficult, but the reaction and the belief was one-of-a-kind, and they were ready to keep doing what was necessary to do, and we found a way to win. Well-deserved, by the way."