"This is going to be insane." That was Casey Settleman's six-word verdict after spending a day among England supporters in Dallas — and honestly, it's hard to argue with him.
Settleman, a football influencer with 30,000 followers on Instagram, had gone into the World Cup opener pledging to stay sober for the tournament. Healthy living, long journey, 34 games to get through. Then he met the England fans. The pledge lasted approximately one conversation.
After polling 10 to 12 supporters on what it takes to be a "true England fan," he got a consistent answer: get on the beers. He did. "The atmosphere was too infectious," he admitted, before declaring the England supporters could make this "the best experience of my entire 34-game journey."
4-2 and a party to match
To be fair to the fans, they had something to celebrate. England opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 4-2 win over Croatia at Dallas Stadium on June 18 — a result that actually matched the noise outside the ground. This wasn't a scrappy, nervy opener. It was the kind of attacking performance that makes the ante-post markets worth revisiting.
Settleman described the supporters as having "completely taken over Texas," and his post drew over 10,000 likes, along with comments ranging from "It's coming home!" to a very practical warning: "If both Scotland and England get past the quarterfinals, there will be no beer left in the US."
England's next test comes against Ghana on Tuesday, June 23, with kick-off at 9pm BST on BBC One. Back-to-back wins would go a long way toward settling any nerves about the group stage — and judging by Dallas, the away end won't be short of noise regardless of what happens on the pitch.
