England fans who booked onward travel expecting the Three Lions to top their World Cup group could face “panic stations” if the team fail to beat Panama, one supporter said.
More than 15,000 England supporters are expected to have travelled to New Jersey for the match on Saturday evening, with many seen taking in the sights of nearby New York City in the days prior.
Fans said they had already booked non-refundable flights to Atlanta, Georgia, for Wednesday’s last-32 tie, expecting England to beat Panama and top their World Cup group.
Panama are ranked 42nd in the Fifa standings.
Meanwhile, millions back in England are expected to watch the match at 10pm UK time.
Thomas Tuchel’s side will finish first in Group L if they can match Ghana’s result against Croatia, also on Saturday, and likely face Senegal or DR Congo, though that could change depending on other results.
If England were to finish second in their group, they would play the second-placed team in Group K, which is currently Portugal, in Toronto, Canada, on Friday.
Should the Three Lions lose to Panama and finish third in the group, they would play the winners of Group K, which is currently Colombia, next Saturday, in Kansas City.
But the heavy New Jersey rain did not dampen the optimism of England fans hoping for a comfortable win.
Speaking from the American Dream shopping centre, next to the New Jersey Stadium, hours before kick-off, Cambridge United fan Sam Gisby, 28, said: “I think we’ll do the business. I going to go for a 3-0 win.”
Liverpool fan Rob Hindhauth, 26, said: “Yeah I’ll go 4-0 – it obviously wasn’t great last time out but I don’t think they’re a great side.”
Questioned on whether he would be checking the result of the match between Ghana and Croatia, Mr Gisby said: “England have got one job, they’ve just got to go and do it – we’ll worry about the rest later.”
Both friends, who now live in London, said they believed the 0-0 draw against Ghana on Tuesday was a “reality check”.
Mr Hindhauth said: “We’re actually going on (to the next round), so it’s pretty stressful because we’ve booked the next two weeks on the assumption that England win the group.
“I think we’re going to Atlanta next, we’ve got flights to Nashville, taking the bus across then Mexico.
“So if we did come second, it would be panic stations.”
Mr Gisby added: “We’ve got a lot tied up in England winning today, so that is quite stressful.”
They said their trip so far had cost them £3,000, with non-refundable flights to Atlanta booked around six months ago.
Preston supporters Ryan Kennedy and Joe English, both 29, arrived hours before kick-off at the MetLife Stadium in ponchos and Statue of Liberty hats they had bought for three dollars from Times Square.
Mr Kennedy told the Press Association: “I think we should win comfortably – a bit of a hiccup in the second game, but that happens – it’s England.”
His friend Mr English added: “A comfortable win – three or four-nil, I reckon.”
Asked whether he would be keeping an eye on the match between Ghana and Croatia, Mr Kennedy said: “Yeah, I think whichever route we get it’ll be difficult, won’t it?
“But you’ve got to beat the best to win the competition.”
“I’ll be on the phone checking notifications – I don’t know what signal is like in there but we’ll find out.”
Meanwhile, Peter Harding, 74, from the north east town of Whitley Bay, speaking in New York on Friday, said: “You could get a team from Brooklyn that would beat Panama.
“A team from Whitley Bay would give Panama a good game.”
Richie Slaughter, 35, from Hexham in Northumberland, said: “I think we’ve got a good chance tomorrow.
“Hopefully we beat them anyway – we’ve already booked the flights to Atlanta and a non-refundable one, so praying they’ll get the win tomorrow.
“I don’t know why, but we booked them the morning of the Ghana game, and then that obviously didn’t go to plan… but I’m still positive we’ll be there.”
Despite sharing Mr Slaughter’s confidence, other fans were more hesitant on planning for the knockout stages.
Bradley Littlechild, 30, who now lives in Edinburgh, said: “So we’ve booked hotels where you can do the cancellation for Toronto and Atlanta.
“We haven’t booked our flights yet, so as soon as the game finishes, we need to book flights or a bus or something, because I think the flights have gone up.
“It’s something like 350 dollars so it’s just going to sting us. And we’ve obviously got to pay for the hotel and then we’ve got to go back to New York to fly back to London – so it’s a journey.
“We’re here because we follow England home and away. It’s just money at the end of the day – I don’t think you can put a price on watching England at the World Cup.”
He added: “It’s England and it’s football – we’re all betting men and I think we would like to say that England are going to go through, but for the sake of spending 500-600 dollars, that’d be a very sore one if you have to then pay money to go to Toronto.”
Giving his thoughts on England’s chances against Panama, Mr Littlechild said: “Arrogantly, we should beat them – but someone asked…. what was my prediction for the Ghana game and I said 4-0.
“But I think tomorrow we should beat them, I’d like to say two to 3-0.”
Supporters have also said transport to the game in New Jersey from New York has also been expensive.
Mr Slaughter said: “We’re on the train to the ground tomorrow, so I think that was – well they reduced it, but I think it was about 90 dollars or something like that.
“But we’ve got to get there somehow.”
Another supporter getting the train, Blackpool fan Tom Wilson, 32, who now lives in Buckinghamshire, said: “Whilst I think it’s very expensive, it looks like the best option given some of the videos I’ve seen on the internet of traffic etc.
“I hate to say it’s worth it, given that, but it seems to be so.”
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