'I've spent £10k at World Cup but it's worth it'

An England fan who travelled to the US for the World Cup without tickets says the £10,000 he has spent so far has been "worth every penny".

Ed Faulkner, a Hull City fan, is attending his 12th tournament to support England who will play Argentina in the tournament's semi-finals on Wednesday.

Currently on a road trip to the match in Atlanta, the fan said he had "paid through the nose for tickets via one of the third-party sort of ticket providers".

Faulkner added: "I'll tell you what, it's gone past the 10K figure, but it's been worth every penny, honestly."

Faulkner said his experience at the tournament had been "absolutely magnificent" and said the US fans had really "embraced" travelling fans.

"It's something that I've never really encountered before [while] following England," he said.

Faulkner also said that despite "not being a football nation", the US residents he had met had surprised him with their knowledge, even commenting on Hull City's promotion to the Premier League.

He said: "It was amazing how many people in and around America know of Hull City, and were congratulating us on getting back into the Premiership."

Faulkner previously made headlines after a customised flag he took along for the tournament was lost at a bar in East Rutherford, New Jersey, while he enjoyed the last-32 game against DR Congo.

Despite asking fans in the US and watching on TV at home to keep a lookout for the flag, which represented Hull City as well as England, Faulkner said it was still missing.

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