Man spends £40k house deposit on dad's World Cup dream

PA Media A man in a blue shirt and wearing sunglasses, he is holding a bottle. He is standing next to a man, also wearing sunglasses, in a white shirt with a red number nine printed on his shirt. PA Media
Jack Goodwin (right) has spent his £40,000 house deposit on match tickets, hotels and transport

An England supporter has spent his £40,000 house deposit to take his father to watch the Three Lions "win the World Cup".

Jack Goodwin, from Chichester, West Sussex, said he had booked hotels, flights and tickets to every match England could play until the final in New Jersey, USA, on 19 July.

He has spent about £4,000 on a ticket to the final, describing the trip as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity".

"We're going to see us bring the World Cup title home," the 34-year-old added.

Speaking ahead of England's first knockout game against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Goodwin said: "We're going to beat them 4-0."

He described the potential of playing Mexico in the Azteca on Sunday as the "dream game of all games" and the "creme de la creme".

Getty Images A large crowd of people holding flags of St George and Union Jack. Getty Images
Jack Goodwin has booked hotels, flights and tickets to every match England could play until the final

The Stoke City supporter said that he was "sweating" when Panama held the Three Lions to a 0-0 draw at half-time in their final group game.

"We were nervous because we got all our tickets through the FIFA ballot," he said.

"If we didn't top the group, all of our tickets would have become invalid."

Explaining how he had funded the trip, Goodwin said that his tickets were all at face value but were still "mega expensive".

"I saved up for a house, and I blew my whole house deposit taking me and my dad out," he said.

He said that he spent "a good £40,000".

"I've got no kids, I've got no wife, so why not? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he said.

Getty Images Fans inside a football stadium draped in red and white scarves and wearing white football shirts. Getty Images
England face the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Wednesday in Atlanta

Despite his excitement, Goodwin said that the cost of World Cup final tickets was a "joke".

"The ticket for the final, which is a joke, was about £4,000 face value for category two.

"We've met a lot of people who did ballots and didn't get tickets, so we're extremely lucky to be here to be honest."

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