England fan Joe Bass takes us through his emotions following our World Cup exit

I'm heart-broken about the result on Wednesday and still crushed about being knocked out.

But despite losing in the semis, it's been a rewarding tournament, with many good memories, both on and off the field.

Strangely though, I actually feel worse than I did in Brazil after being eliminated after just two games as I really thought we’d be in Moscow on Sunday. I really had high hopes for the match.

So I've booked a fast return train (I couldn't face another 14 hourer!) to St. Petersburg to go and give the team a good send-off, win or lose, on Saturday.

And then I fly home on Monday and will be reunited with the wife!

Looking back to Wednesday’s game though, I thought we played really well in first half and if we had scored another goal, I think we would have won.

We faded in the second half and let Croatia back into the match. They out-played us for long periods and on the overall performance, probably deserved to win.

I didn't cry but some England fans around me did. They stayed behind long after the match, not to celebrate, but to thank the team and absorb the crushing sense of disappointment.

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The view from my seat at the stadium in Moscow

But there will be no sense of the fans being short-changed by the team in this World Cup, as there might have been at the two previous editions.

Perhaps we lacked some individual genius to inspire us and deliver a killer blow. Perhaps we had played as well as we could have done. We can't complain too much.

England very much needed a good tournament - and we got one.They far exceeded our expectations, they surprised and lifted the nation.

The things I'll remember most about this World Cup though will be the friendliness of the Russian people.

They have been perfect hosts and have put on a very competent, efficient and well-run tournament. I congratulate them and thank them for their hospitality.

I'll long remember the first two games and the special atmosphere those 2500 fans generated between them.

It has never been bettered, not even on Wednesday, when there were so many more England fans.

I'll remember Harry Kane's last-minute winner against Tunisia, the six goals against Panama and the penalty shootout against Colombia.

But most of all I'll remember the friendship among the fans, not just between the England fans but between fans from all over the world.