Three Lions fan's 'unfathomable dream' World Cup trip

"It is an absolute dream and a pinch myself moment to realise that on Saturday morning I'll be flying out to see England play in a World Cup."

Three Lions superfan Andy Taylor - from Didcot, in Oxfordshire - will soon be heading to the United States to follow Thomas Tuchel's team in their latest attempt to end 60 years of hurt.

England kick off their tournament against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday, with group games against Ghana and Panama following over the next ten days.

Taylor, who previously followed England through Germany during Euro 2024, will be attending the last two of those games - held in Boston and New York.

"It just seems unfathomable for me to be able to [go to the World Cup] but I'm so excited - I can't wait," he said.

On the appeal of the tournament, Taylor said: "Bringing out the inner child in you is the perfect summary of what the World Cup does to me."

"I love everything about it, I think it's brilliant."

Whether it's Gordon Banks' save to deny Pele in 1970 or Gazza's tears at Italia 90 - the World Cup holds a nostalgic place in the hearts of football fans unlike any other.

For Taylor, England's iconic arm-wrestle with Argentina at France 98 was the one that lit the spark.

"That game against Argentina had every emotion - from one of the best goals ever at the World Cup to then Beckham getting sent off and then losing on penalties," he said.

"Even 30 odd years later, that game still hurts today."

Two years later, the trio are now preparing for the mother off all football trips - to the largest ever World Cup.

Much of the discourse ahead of the tournament centred on the prices of tickets, with admittance to some matches costing thousands of dollars.

Taylor said his tickets were "still expensive" but "more affordable than what I've read in the press", adding "we've paid nowhere near what some of the reported figures are".

"We wouldn't have booked this trip if it was costing tens of thousands of pounds - we're nowhere near that."

Another area of controversy surrounding the championships has been the cost of transit for fans from cities to suburban stadiums.

Boston and New York have both come in for criticism on this front, with fans having to fork out $98 (£73) to get from the Big Apple to the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The ticket would usually cost $12.90 (£9.50) for a return fare.

"It is very, very frustrating to to see that they've put up the train fares where it should be accessible for fans to get to and from the game," Taylor said.

"Considering you're paying over the over the odds for a match ticket anyway, to then add that extra cost is just is pretty, pretty poor."

Alongside the Didcot trio throughout their trip will be a St George's flag with the name of their home club emblazoned across it - after a slight intergroup rivalry.

"One of the lads who I'm going with is unfortunately a Swindon Town fan," Taylor - who is an Oxford United season ticket holder - said.

"We can't have an Oxford United badge next to a Swindon one on the St George's flag, so we've put the Didcot Town badge on it instead."

As for England's hopes of lifting the World Cup for the first time since 1966, Taylor said: "With the group of talented players we've got, we have to be looking at semi-finals."

"If you get that far in the World Cup, who knows, anything can happen and maybe we have the luck on our side and finally end the years of hurt."