Thousands of boozy England fans party in Cologne as they celebrate the Three Lions qualifying for the last 16 with a game to spare ahead of Euro 2024 clash against Slovenia… but some supporters go too far again with ’10 German bombers’ chant

Thousands of England fans have arrived in Cologne ahead of their side’s final Euro 2024 group game against Slovenia.

Three Lions supporters drank lagers and went through their full repertoire of football anthems, including ‘Don’t take me home’ and ‘Sweet Caroline’ in the picturesque squares of the city’s Altermarkt.

And as the evening wore on results elsewhere meant England had qualified for the last 16 regardless of what happens on Tuesday, with the Three Lions now guaranteed to either finish in the top two spots in Group C or be better than third place sides in other groups.

Some England fanatics were joined last night by a group of Slovenians in celebrating the end of Scotland’s Euro journey after the Tartan Army lost 1-0 to Hungary on Sunday.

The two sets of football fans belted out the chants ‘Scotland’s going home and England’s on the p***’ as well as ‘Scotland go home’ in jubilant scenes after the Auld Enemy suffered another early tournament exit. 

Today England supporters downed pints in the blazing Cologne sunshine which shone on the many bars and restaurants lining the pleasant old quarter of the city.

Three Lions fans arrived in the area by train, car and even campervan, with some going straight from Frankfurt after England’s 1-1 draw against Denmark, and launched straight into loud renditions of ‘Sweet Caroline’.

The Neil Diamond classic became an England anthem at the last Euros in 2021 and accompanied Gareth Southgate’s side all the way to the final at Wembley where they lost on penalties to Italy.

And the tune came out once again this afternoon with Three Lions fanatics in good spirits as they waved their arms in the air and danced around the outdoor tables at packed out bars in Cologne.

While the scenes in the city remained largely good-natured during a day where thousands of fans descended on pubs and drank litres of beer, some fans provided a sour note by chanting unsavoury songs.

A rendition of ‘Ten German Bombers’ could be heard on the streets while a couple of fans waved a World War II-era RAF plane.

Three Lions supporters have been warned by German police not to sing the song with a clear message: ‘Don’t be a d***!’

Sung to the tune of ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’, the chant refers to German casualties in the Second World War. 

It has regularly been heard at England matches, including in the pre-match build up for Euros matches against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen and against Denmark in Frankfurt.

There are fears that it could be frequently heard at the Euros and despite the warning of German authorities, they are powerless to stop it.

According to The telegraph, chief of police Peter Both said: ‘That’s what I would say to them: Don’t be a d***. If they sing a song like this, I can’t change it.

‘It’s not punishable in Germany. I hope that all the other peaceful and law-abiding fans say to them: “Stop it.”

‘I know, and all people in Germany know, there is a long-lasting sporting rivalry between England and Germany. But it’s important for me to say it’s only a sporting one.

‘Our countries have been, and remain, allies for over seven decades.’

Last night fans of England and Slovenia, who will be bitter rivals on Tuesday night for a tense final group match, joined forces to poke fun at Scotland’s expense after the Tartan Army were knocked out of the tournament.

Scotland lost 1-0 to a brutal 100th minute Hungarian winner condemning them to another group stage exit.

And football fans wallowed in Tartan Army misery in Cologne last night Scotland’s going home and England’s on the p***’ as well as ‘Scotland go home’.

Meanwhile Three Lions supporters led chants of ‘Scotland get battered everywhere they go’ as fans waved England flags and Slovenia banners in hectic scenes in the German city. 

The England side have faced criticism from supporters and ex-players after a dismal 1-1 draw to Denmark on Thursday.

Gary Lineker was one of several prominent media figures to slam the showing, branding the performance ‘s***’ on The Rest is Football, a podcast he hosts and owns through his Goalhanger production company.

Speaking ahead of England’s final group game against Slovenia, captain Harry Kane hit back and insisted former England players should think twice before commenting on the team.

The England captain also suggested an ulterior motive behind some of the negative reaction, with members of the media using it to ‘promote their own channels’ because they ‘want the most views’.

Speaking alongside Alan Shearer on his podcast Lineker stood by his criticism of England, and insisted that the journalist who put his comments to the team would have had the same evaluation of their performance.

And England supporters in Cologne have appeared downbeat after the Three Lions’ disappointing performance against the Danes.

Instead of singing the fan anthem ‘All the Way’, supporters were unusually quiet – with some calling for manager Gareth Southgate to be sacked.

George Colmer, 31, a financial consultant, from Essex, said: ‘I think England fans like me have had enough. Our manager has shown in the two games so far that he has no tactics and is clueless.

‘Lineker is right to have a go. But I think Southgate shouldn’t be scared to drop the big names like Harry Kane. We need a fresh start in this competition and fresh names going forward.’

Luke Kennelly, a Manchester United fan, said: ‘We have got to make changes and make them now.

‘We are weak as a team and we have a weak manager in Southgate. His defensive tactics are going to get us in a lot of trouble against Slovenia who have drawn their first two games and are very much in the conversation. ‘

England fan Harry Webster, 58, of Croydon, said: ‘I was in Russia and Qatar for the World Cups and we were superb.

‘But we have gone backwards and I was in Frankfurt when we were awful and lucky to get a draw with Denmark.

‘I was thinking about it on the train here and history has shown that every England manager apart from Sir Alf Ramsey gets it wrong in the end.

‘We have in reality only a small chance of winning the Euros in Germany so I hope Southgate and his team go down at the very least fighting.’

Meanwhile, fleets of UK motor homes – both rented or owner-occupied – have also descended on riverside camp sites in Cologne ahead of tomorrow night’s match.

Other England supporters flew to locations including Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Malaga to rent vans at much cheaper rates than back home, before driving on to the riverside city.

The road trip fans include England forward Jarrod Bowen’s father, Sam, a former semi-professional footballer-turned farmer. Mr Bowen Snr has been driving a 1,000+ round-trip for each of the three group games with the West Ham United player’s brother and two of his friends.

West Ham United player Bowen said on Saturday his father was ‘doing all the hours on the motorways’ in the motorhome.

Cologne has three main camp sites – two on either bank of the Rhine which runs through the city and a bigger site in a forest a 30-minute drive north.

Stuart Coram, 59, set off in his VW camper van from his home in Chester straight after watching Scotland’s defeat by Germany in the tournament curtain-raiser on June 14. Travelling overnight, his route included a three-hour diversion to Eindhoven in the Netherlands to stock up on his favourite chicken satay.

Mr Coram, a semi-retired aircraft engineer, said: ‘Chicken satay is an Indonesian dish and Indonesia was a Dutch colony – it just isn’t as good in the UK as it is over there. I like eating it with bread.’ The Chester FC season ticket holder has tickets for each of England’s three group matches, and has visited friends elsewhere in Germany and in Luxembourg in-between.

The solo traveller paid just under 100 Euros (£84.50) for his four nights at the Campingplatz Stadt Koln site – cheaper than many overnight parking rates at hotels in the city.

Mr Coram added: ‘The atmosphere has been brilliant everywhere I’ve been. It’s just a shame about the football, that’s been the only disappointing thing.’ Also on site were retired firefighter Mick Bollands, 63, and his salesman son Scott, 34, enjoying a ‘dad and lad’ Euro 2024 tour.

‘I’ve just recently retired and this was on my bucket list’, Mr Bollands, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, said.

Across the river at the larger Camping Berger site, Aaron Banks, 45, his wife Rebekah, 43, daughter Ella, six, and son Thomas four, together with Aaron’s nephew, Jack Banks, 29, were relaxing outside their motorhome, rented from a dealer near Frankfurt. The group flew into the city ahead of England’s game there against Denmark last week and then drove on to Cologne.

Mr and Mrs Banks, originally from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, had flown to the UK from their home in Singapore before meeting up with Jack and heading to Germany.

‘It has been brilliant,’ said IT worker Mr Banks. ‘The Germans have been amazing, they are very hospitable.

‘We went to the fan zone in Frankfurt with the kids and felt very safe.’ Sitting in their deck chairs nearby, Dennis and Heidi Williams soaked up the sunshine alongside their bright yellow VW camper van.

The couple from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, do not have tickets for the games but have been cheering on the team from the fan parks.

‘To be honest we are just here for the beer’ laughed Heidi, 43, a self-employed dog walker.

Retired engineer Dennis, 69, added: ‘There is a real camper van community over here. We have seen quite a lot of the same faces here in Cologne as we did in Frankfurt.’ Outside of the city at the giant Campsite Waldbad, a ten-strong group of Sheffield Wednesday fans had erected a portable flag pole to fly the cross of St George’s in the middle of their camp, where they were playing darts.

Electrician Luke Webster, 30, described the forest site experience as ‘bang on’ but said the group were yet to challenge the Germans to a darts match.

His father Bryn, 56, a paramedic, added: ‘It has been brilliant, the atmosphere, the travelling, the beer, the food, the locals. We all hope England will be a bit better at the next game.’

In Cologne’s old town market square, the Corkonian Irish Bar closed on Saturday night to give ‘exhausted’ staff a rest. But some locals speculated that the bar, which doesn’t re-open until Wednesday, had really shut its doors to avoid the influx of an estimated 50,000 England fans into Cologne.

A friend of the landlord said: ‘They’ve been incredibly busy every since Euro 2024 started and the bar has been packed both inside and on its terrace all day every day. The staff are just exhausted.’ Yelda Zazcu, who works at the neighbouring Buon Appetito café bar, laughed as she said the football fans were ‘crazy…they move our furniture around and stand on the tables’, but added: ‘They are also kind. We have had no real problems.’ As temperatures climbed to 27C (80.6F) in Cologne yesterday, bare-shirted England fans were seen taking advantage of free suncream from dispensers installed around the Old Town by municipal authorities.

Bowen told journalists on Saturday that his father ‘just parks the campervan up somewhere’ ahead of each game, but added that he had advised Mr Bowen Snr to ‘take the England flags down just in case the windows get put through if the wrong fans come across it’.

He had previously said his father bought the motorhome to accommodate his canoe, but was using it to commute to Germany because he was too ‘tight’ to pay for flights.