Pubs bracing to serve an extra six million pints for England fans watching crunch semi-final
England fans ahead of a screening of the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final match between England and Argentina at Castlefield Bowl.
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England fans are flocking to the pubs to watch England's crunch World Cup semi-final against Argentina where landlords are expecting to serve an extra six million pints. Thomas Tuchel's men are gearing up for their huge tie in Atlanta and while thousands of fans are over in the US, others back in home soil are also getting in the spirit.The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said pubs would expect to sell eight million pints on an average Wednesday in July, so the extra six million equates to a 75% increase.The atmosphere at Boxpark Wembley was raucous on Wednesday night, with fans packing out the venue to watch England take on Argentina in the World Cup semi-final.Read more: England vs Argentina weather forecast revealed as Atlanta faces 'excessive' warningsRead more: Argentina vice-president calls England 'usurping pirates' as tensions simmer before World Cup clash
An England fan has his face painted ahead of a screening of the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final match between England and Argentina at Castlefield Bowl, Manchester.
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Hundreds of fans could be seen wearing St George’s flag bucket hats and cheered boisterously as the team was announced. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham’s names were celebrated particularly loudly.The crowd was treated to a performance of Incredible by M-Beat and sang along to Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis.BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin said: "Thanks to the World Cup, we’ve seen millions of extra pints sold off the back of home nations matches.
England fans ahead of the match.
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"Given the nail-biting stakes, we expect Wednesday to be the most successful night of the tournament, with more than six million extra pints potentially sold – which is a bigger boost than we’d normally see on a bank holiday or New Year’s Eve."Data from Barclays, which sees 40% of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, shows England’s World Cup matches have already provided UK pubs and bars with a major boost.This comes despite 47% of those tuning into the tournament saying they are watching more matches at home than usual, due to late kick-off times, a Barclays survey found.Hospitality bookings have also surged, with Greene King saying it had 50,000 covers booked for Wednesday’s match across 1,000 pubs.
Even Larry the cat, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, was seen getting in the spirit.
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Crowds at the Jude Bellingham lookalike competition at BOXPARK Shoreditch in London ahead of England's semi-final.
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There was even a Jude Bellingham lookalike competition at BOXPARK Shoreditch in London ahead of the match, organised by Deliveroo as part of the ongoing 'Believeroo' campaign.England fans across the country are anxiously counting down to the final minutes before kick-off, with Liam Pearce, 29, from Wiltshire, saying: “I’m very nervous — it’s a World Cup semi-final. "It’s a huge game and a big rivalry, so it’ll be interesting to see how it goes.”
