England 2 - Matla 0 @ Wembley

Yesterday I had a great day out at Wembley Stadium with Joshua and Brandon to watch England's World Cup qualifier against Malta. The journey there was a bit of an adventure given that there were no trains from Wickford or Basildon, so we got a lift to Upminster and then jumped on a train from there only to find Tower Hill was closed and no circle line, so we had to walk to Aldgate to then catch a Metropolitan line to Wembley Park!!!!

 

Because of all the problems with the trains we only arrived at the stadium around 15 minutes before kick-off (after a sneaky McDonalds though). We had seats in the family enclosure but what I didn't realise was it was the very back row. However it has to be said that the view of the pitch was pretty awesome from up there and the boys thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

The game itself was quite entertaining with England seeming to have some 70% plus of the possession but just not getting as many goals as you would hope against a team like Malta. I guess with the recent sacking of Sam Alardyce and Gareth Southgate stepping up as short term manager we shouldn't have expected too much. Daniel Sturridge scored the first of our goals with a cracking header into the bottom corner and then Deli Alli sort of thumbled a rebound in for the second goal (all before half time). The second half was lots of possession again but no goals, so we left at about 85 minutes to try and get a head start on the tubes. The stadium was not far from full with an attendance of 81,781 for the qualifier.

 

I absolutely love giving the boys the opportunity to watch international games at historic venues such as Wembley. Its building such great childhood memories for them and something I would have loved to have done as a kid.

 

A cheeky McDonald's before we head in to the stadium to find our seats.

 

A quick selfie at the famous Wembley arch.

Me and my boys building some good memories. Quality time with the kids.

Despite back row seats.............

 

..........we had a great view of all the action.

 

The banners on the pitch before the players and national anthems commence.

Out come the players on to the pitch. England being led by skipper Wayne Rooney.

Standing proud as God Save the Queen is played over the PA system.

And the action commences. Poor old Joe Hart was pretty much a spectator himself for the first half!

At half time we discovered the Michael Jackson holds the record for the most solo performances at Wembley with 15!

The mad rush at the end of the match racing down to Wembley Park. But time to look back and get a quick picture of the arch all lit up.