England fans 'gobsmacked' by NJ World Cup experience

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EAST RUTHERFORD — When James Vogle pulled up at his dad Mark's house in Kent, England, on the evening on June 25, he was kind of surprised. Father and son live about an hour apart, and it's unusual for James to just stop by without letting his parents know first.

"You look a bit too casual to go to the World Cup," James Vogle said to his father. Mark Vogle responded, "No, we're not."

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But yes, they were.

About a month ago, James Vogle had bought two tickets to see England play Panama at MetLife Stadium and asked his dad to come. But Mark Vogle demurred.

James sold one of the tickets, but then, he and his mom plotted a birthday surprise for his father. James Vogle picked up another ticket on Facebook, bought flights, and even called his father's boss at the University of Kent and arranged for Mark to have three days off.

When he showed up two days ago at his dad's home, it was 8 p.m. on Thursday, and they had a 6 a.m. flight the next morning. Mark Vogle turns 60 in September, and this is his first time at an England road match.

"I was gobsmacked," said Mark Vogle, who wore a red England No. 1 jersey with "DAD" where the name should be. "I'm still in amazement that I'm in America again."

England and Ghana came into the final group-stage match tied with four points apiece. Ghana was playing Croatia in Philadelphia at the same time as the English took on Panama, which has already been eliminated.

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This is the last of five group-stage matches at MetLife Stadium. The top two teams in each group automatically advance, along with eight of the 12 third-place finishers.

Before the match, English fans took over the main concourse of American Dream, hanging banners with their towns and teams to claim a bit of space in New Jersey.

"It's the hope that kills you, isn't it?" said Josh McCarthy of Leicester, England, who bought his World Cup ticket and flight on June 24, and arrived the night before the match. "It'll be the year they win it again, and you can say you've been there. People are willing to take a gamble and see what happens."

Check out our England-Panama photo gallery, then scroll down for the rest of the story.

Up next at the World Cup in New Jersey

Knockout-round games are scheduled here on June 30 – France vs. Sweden – and July 5, followed by the July 19 World Cup final.

Mathias Kjellberg and Annica Blake hope to get tickets to that match. They walked through the American Dream parking garage looking a little out of place in blue Sweden jerseys.

Kjellberg had come over from Stockholm, and unable to get tickets to see Sweden, instead went to a Scotland match in Foxborough, Massachusetts, not far from where Blake's suburban Boston home. They were supposed to go to an official FIFA watch party for Sweden-Japan on June 26, but at the last minute the broadcast was switched to the Netherlands against Tunisia instead.

If the knockout-round tickets don't come through, Kjellberg is planning to host a watch party in Branford, Connecticut, with some high school friends.

"We try to do a family thing when Sweden qualifies," said Kjellberg, recalling a trip to Russia in 2018 and watching Sweden play Brazil to a 1-1 group-stage draw at the Pontiac (Michigan) Silverdome during the 1994 World Cup.

More: NJ Youth Soccer players gifted World Cup tickets, 'best experience'

Future of soccer on display

Rafy Sullivan got to connect with his English side at the World Cup match.

Though the 10-year-old is growing up in Alexandria, Virginia, his mom Lauren is from Clifton and Oak Ridge, and his father is English. Rafy wore a red No. 9 Harry Kane jersey, but said his favorite player at the World Cup is Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, who scored twice in a 3-2 win against Senegal on June 22 at MetLife Stadium.

Sullivan plays both striker and goalkeeper, and said his favorite thing to do is make top-corner saves, and also likes penalty kicks.

"When I'm in goal, and there's a penalty, I feel proud, because if I dive the right way, there's a chance I'll save it," he said. "When I'm a striker, I can score it, and when I'm a goalie, I can save it."

Jaime DeLeon had his own custom No. 26 Panama jersey. He paused on his way to the match to get his face painted with the flag: a red box, a blue box, and two white boxes, one with a red star and one with blue. He lamented not getting to see midfielder Adalberto "Coco" Carrasquilla, who is injured and didn't play on Saturday.

And even though Panama did not earn any points at this World Cup, DeLeon is looking ahead. It is only the second time the Central American nation had qualified.

"Even locally, Panama is now seen as a big rival. That's different from when I grew up," said DeLeon, who emigrated to the United States 20 years ago. "Before the coach (Thomas Christiansen), they had players that were good but the style wasn't there. What I think is missing is the striker. But the strikers are coming. There's a new generation of players rising."

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: England fans 'gobsmacked' by NJ World Cup experience

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