So Many People Booked Monday Off Work Because They Thought England Would Win World Cup

You might notice a few empty seats in work tomorrow, which may be down to the fact that so many England fans were convinced that Gareth Southgate's men would lift the World Cup trophy for the first time since 1966.

It became a running meme that 'football was coming home' when the Three Lions progressed to the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Even a petition was created to make Monday 16th July a national bank holiday to celebrate England's World Cup victory.

There was no many more confident than Castleford's Jamie Richardson, who went and spent money on a tattoo that said: "England 2018 World Cup Winners"

But as we all know, it just wasn't meant to be and the country mourned what was a romantic journey to the semi's.

It was a time of hope. Every fan believed that it could have actually happened. These bunch of lads were full of confidence after smashing the group stages, which lead some to book time off to recover from winning the World Cup final.

Here are some of the best reactions on social media:

What could have been.

Topics: Football News, Football, Croatia, England, World Cup, Fans

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_