We can feel the support from back home…it’s a privilege says Southgate

More than 10,000 fans have made the journey to Moscow for the semi-final showdown with Croatia, with many now looking to the black market for tickets.

Touts were selling match tickets for £11,723 on website StubHub while prices on secondary selling site Ticombo soared to £9,400.

Russian officials said nearly 7,000 more England fans ordered a Fan ID after England’s quarter-final win against Sweden on Saturday.

This means the number of Fan IDs ordered by England fans stood at 28,048 – up from 17,722 when the Three Lions played Panama on June 24.

A direct return flight from London to Moscow this morning will cost at least £1,900.

The website for a fan park in London’s Hyde Park crashed as tens of thousands tried to snap up one of 30,000 tickets to watch the match.

And England fans took only five minutes to snap up 3,000 tickets to watch the match on a big screen at Nottingham Castle. Similar events are being held in other major cities.

As many as 37 million people are expected to watch the game on TV, with traffic on England’s major roads set to fall by as much as 33 per cent during the match, according to Highways England.

Meanwhile, England boss Southgate said: “We are really proud of the support we are receiving. We have had the chance to make a difference. Our supporters, our country has had a long time of suffering in terms of football.

“The enthusiasm they have for these players is because of the way they have not only played, but conducted themselves. They have been great ambassadors for our country.

“I think everyone can see that they are proud to wear the shirt. It’s great for them they have got some enjoyable experiences of playing for England.

“Our country has been through some difficult moments recently in terms of its unity and I think sport has the power to do that and football in particular has the power to do that. So we can feel the support from home. It’s a very special feeling, it’s a privilege for us.”

England’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks last night compared the current squad to the victorious 1966 team.

He said: “It will be tough, but I really think this England team have got what it takes to win it. The team is getting better and better with every game and that was the same with us in 1966, which is why I’m quietly optimistic.

“There are lots of similarities between us and them because they’re a humble lot who are in it together. They work hard for each other and there are no big superstars.”

Renditions of “It’s Coming Home” have echoed across pubs, parks and gardens as fans dream of a second World Cup triumph.

But Boss Southgate admitted he could not listen to Three Lions after his penalty shoot-out miss in the Euro ’96 semi-final – the year the anthem was first released.

He said with a smile: “Football’s Coming Home is a song I couldn’t even listen to for 20 years, frankly, so for me it has a slightly different feel.

“It’s nice to hear people enjoying it again, anyway.”

Last night a potential World Cup final showdown with the French was set up after Les Bleus beat Belgium 1-0 in the first semi-final.

And the Duke of Cambridge, who is president of the FA, has been in touch privately with the England squad to wish them luck ahead of tonight’s game, sources said.