FOOTBALL might not be coming home, but a group of four Islanders who have watched every England game in the World Cup are – after their month-long “once-in-a-lifetime” journey across North America finally came to an end with the Three Lions’ semi-final defeat to Argentina.
Tony Rogers – with companions Dave Houzé, Paul Starkey and Paul Wilson – have inadvertently become both Island ambassadors and local media correspondents on their travels, reporting back on the atmosphere in and around the stadia, before, during and after matches.
But following the bursting of England’s dreams on Wednesday, the quartet have gone their separate ways – and will soon be flying home, richer in memories; if perhaps a little poorer in pocket.
But it was worth every penny, Mr Rogers told the JEP, shortly after arriving in Nashville after an overnight bus from Atlanta.
“It’s a been once-in-a-lifetime holiday; absolutely great,” he said. “Honestly, everyone’s been really friendly, and when we look back on it, the summer of ’26 will hold a lot of incredible memories.”
That said, he added, the match against Argentina had been different to the others, and it was not just the heightened stakes of a semi-final.
He said: “It was all good but a little bit more hostile than it has been for other games. There were a lot of Argentinians sitting with the England fans, so there was a little bit more aggravation.
“It wasn’t physical; just chanting really, and they booed our National Anthem, which upset a lot of people around us. The match was just edgier than the others.”
Reflecting on the game itself, Mr Rogers added: “Once we got the lead, I thought, you know, if we can just hang on. But sadly, we were about five or six minutes away from that. Once we went 1-0 up, we seemed to go back into ourselves.
“We were up the other end of the pitch and could see it happening; it was like watching a train crash. They had been knocking on the door for a while, hitting the post two or three times, and there was an inevitability about it all.
“It’s a shame because we had done so well. If we could have got to extra time, the manager would have had the chance to chat with the players to change their tactics a bit, but, sadly, it didn’t get to that.”
Mr Rogers said that England fans had been very vocal in the stadium to get behind their team. It had become more subdued immediately after the game, but then things had picked up again when the four friends went to a little bar in the city that they had been to earlier.
“It was full of England fans and we were all able to reflect on what a great tournament it had been and how lucky we were to have been part of it. We had a good laugh in the end.”
Mr Rogers said that he was flying from Nashville to New York for a flight home, possibly on Thursday evening.
He said: “I’m not staying around for the England-France game, firstly, because it doesn’t mean as much and, secondly, it’s in the Miami stadium, which took us two hours to get to and back. I’ll leave that for other England fans to enjoy.”
Mr Rogers thanked everyone in Jersey for their support over the journey, the media for their interest, and his wife for her understanding.
“Everyone here has been ever-so good to us, and it’s been a real blast. It’s a shame we couldn’t get to the final, but it’s still been an unforgettable 32 days.”
