Confident England Fans Shell Out Thousands on Mexico Flights Despite DR Congo Test

Confident England football fans have taken a gamble by booking flights and hotels for a potential World Cup last-16 tie in Mexico City, even as the Three Lions still need to overcome the Democratic Republic of Congo. The national side is scheduled to play the African nation in their round of 32 clash in Atlanta on Wednesday, with many supporters expressing confidence in England's chances. A victory at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium would propel England into a last-16 match on Sunday against co-hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, one of world football's most famous venues. Mexico secured their place in the last 32 by beating Ecuador 2-0 on Tuesday. Reflecting the high stakes, one fan commented that the team "don't really deserve to be here" if they fail to win their crucial match against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ryan Woods, 33, from Portsmouth, said: "We should go through. It's a tough game, but if we can't win tomorrow we don't really deserve to be here, do we? But it will be a hard game – we've struggled when we've had to break teams down but we should be all right hopefully. On to Mexico." Mr. Woods mentioned that securing top spot in the group against Panama had caused him more anxiety because it determined whether England would play in Atlanta or Toronto. "We've got our flights booked to Mexico, but they're refundable anyway which is good," he said. "It was more the flights here – we were a bit nervy at half time in New York. I was frantically looking at prices to Toronto and whatnot, but it worked out so it's all good."

He continued: "The plan is, assuming we get there, is to go up to the quarters and then we'll just get priced out of carrying on. I'll be paying it off over a couple of years I think. It's not been too bad but the semi and the final was just too much of a push to do the rest of it, which is unfortunate." The Manchester United fan said the tournament has "really started" now that it has entered the knockout stages. He said: "With the only exception being the Scots, we only really had to win one game to go through anyway. So now's the go time really."