JANE FRYER watches England sailing through to the Quarter-Finals

Senegal drums fall silent, God Save the King rings out and we start dreaming of France on Saturday: JANE FRYER watches England sailing through to the World Cup Quarter-Finals in style

So here we are on Super Sunday, limbering up for our first knock-out game of the championship in the Battle of the Big Cats.

Our brave Lions – fit, bouncy, sporting crisp pre-match haircuts and desperate to avoid penalties at any cost – are ready to get their claws into the Lions of Teranga.

Yes, yes, we know there’s no Marcus Rashford in the team (despite being on track for the golden boot after his two brilliant goals against Wales, but weirdly benched by Gareth Southgate) and Raheem Sterling’s sadly not available. But the rest of them look roaring to start in their fresh white shorts.

So it’s a shame that things don’t exactly begin with a bang. Because after all that promise, we’re a bit sleepy, a bit sloppy (thank the Lord for Jordan Pickford) and a teeny bit surprised at the strength of the Champions of Africa.

An England fan inside the stadium celebrates as Southgate’s men cruise to victory

So here we are on Super Sunday, limbering up for our first knock-out game of the championship in the Battle of the Big Cats

Even without the brilliant Sadio Mane, they are powerful, tight, threatening and, to start with, seem to be taking turns to trip our players up.

On it rumbles. Painful and tense as thoughts of extra time and (please, please not) penalties lurk darkly in our minds.

Little wonder it’s in the knock-out stages, with our looming fear of yet another England shoot-out heartbreak, that we start madly embracing every lucky charm and ritual available:

The pre-match haircuts for the players.

Dave, the stray cat who’s been adopted as the English lucky mascot and now attends team dinners at the training camp.

Singer Chesney Hawkes who – after singing his one hit wonder The One And Only during half time in the Wales match and transforming England’s fortunes – has reportedly been shipped straight from his Saturday night gig at Butlins in Skegness to Qatar, to do his bit. And the picture of Gary Lineker’s massive ears that one paper encouraged its readers to rub this morning to help break the curse of ITV. (Since 1998, England have won just two of their 15 World Cup matches on ITV – compared with 12 out of 16 on the BBC).

Harry Kane celebrates England’s run to the Quarter-Final with a kiss from partner Katie Goodland

Little wonder it’s in the knock-out stages, with our looming fear of yet another England shoot-out heartbreak, that we start madly embracing every lucky charm and ritual available

Because it turns out we’ll try, buy, or back pretty much anything – even Camilla, the lucky camel from Melton Mowbray, who predicted an England win by giving our flag a good sniff in her enclosure – if we think it will help.

But sadly, after 35 minutes, there’s still no spark and the two million people who’ve had the foresight to book Hangover Monday as a day off work to celebrate our place in the quarters, are feeling a bit silly.

Southgate’s promises to ‘bring smiles to people’s faces’ and to give us a night that ‘people will remember forever’ are ringing a bit hollow.

Even the team’s most dogged supporters up in the stands are looking nervy in their pared-back crusader chic, chain mail coifs and red and white caps. (And spectacularly upstaged by the Senegalese fans in their face paint and national colours with their booming tumba drums, wooden rain sticks, golden trombones and trumpets and giant hairy lion masks.)

C’mon England. Please…

And then suddenly – and maybe it was Dave the stray, or Camilla the camel, or thinking Chesney’s on his way – out of nowhere comes a lovely set-up by brilliant Bellingham and, in minute 38, Hendo scores! GOAL!

Ten minutes later, while we’re all still mopping up spilt beer and hugging each other and the team is playing as if they’ve finally been plugged in properly, Captain Kane finally puts an end to his World Cup goal drought. Two-nil and we start planning where to watch the France game on Saturday.

Soon after, Bukayo Saka’s goal turns it into a reality, the Senegalese drums finally fall silent, our fans in the stadium roar out God Save the King and the rest of us all go mad with joy and hope.

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