The Lionesses landed back in the UK on Tuesday after their World Cup final defeat – but fans that gathered at the airport to welcome them home were left disappointed after the players were escorted out through a back door.
Around 40 well-wishers brought England flags and handmade banners to Heathrow Airport, with one group having waited all night, but the team are understood to have left via a private exit after touching down just after 6.30am.
Others brought flowers for head coach Sarina Wiegman, while placards featured messages saying, “You all made us proud,” and “Can we have two T-shirts please?”
Hopes were raised when former England player and presenter Alex Scott was spotted walking through arrivals, with fans saying she hinted the team would follow. The crowd burst out into chants of “Sweet Caroline”. The team’s bags with the squad logo were also carried through.
Hope turned to disappointment when it was later confirmed by airport staff that the Lionesses had left the airport and the crowd soon dispersed. A small number of fans watched at arrivals for a little longer just to be sure they had not missed out on any action.
Joanne Bruce, 51, travelled from Wisbech in Cambridgeshire to the airport at 10.30pm on Monday with her niece and sister in the hope of thanking the team for their tournament performance. She told the PA news agency: “We haven’t slept, we have just laughed and joked. It was just the three of us to start with. My sister was like, ‘I really want to go early’.”
When asked if there any other fans were at the airport then she replied: “No, no, no. They didn’t come until about four o’clock this morning. We have now got a car parking ticket of £70 [or] £80, maybe more.
“I was very, very disappointed,” Ms Bruce said about the final result which saw England miss out on World Cup glory. “Seeing Millie [Bright] with tears in her eyes, it just brought tears to my eyes. I really felt for them as well. They have definitely done us proud, to get as far as they did.”
