30 May 2005
Coming to America

The England squad have been impressed by the levels of enthusiasm they have generated since arriving in the USA.


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England's tour of the United States has proved to be hugely popular among the American fans of the sport, with people drawn from across the country to see the Three Lions in action.

One fan, John Denny, travelled all the way from Alaska just to meet some of the England players and for him it was worth the 11-hour trip.

"It's pretty amazing," John says. "Not much gets me nervous anymore but when you see someone you've seen [play] all season it's pretty overwhelming."

Peter Crouch was one England player who was surprised by the level of enthusiasm shown by the American public.

"You don't expect they all know your name," the Southampton striker says. "But football's universal and everyone loves it."

Phil Neville, who has toured here before with Manchester United, feels that the sport is growing in the country which held the World Cup Finals 11 years ago.

"Soccer's not their favourite sport and you need to work hard at promoting it," Neville says.

"It's a fantastic place to play your football and all am ask you is to entertain them. The crowds are getting bigger and bigger and the appreciation is better," he says.

And England Head Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was another to be impressed by the American soccer fans.

"You can see the interest of football is very big in the United States, especially the young kids," he says. "I think they want to see good football and I hope they liked what they saw."