The Scots took Boston.
Now England fans have arrived in New York to settle the score.
After watching their bitter rivals turn Boston into a tartan stronghold earlier in the World Cup, Three Lions supporters landed in Manhattan with a clear mission before Saturday’s Group L World Cup clash with Panama at New York New Jersey Stadium: prove they could go bigger, louder and longer.
The Brits are back in New York — and they are trying to retake the city one pub at a time.
By Friday afternoon, England shirts, St. George’s flags and fancy dress had spread across the five boroughs. Long lines of fans spilled out of Banter Bar in Williamsburg, while others packed into Legends, Carragher’s, Jones Wood Foundry and The Long Acre in Midtown.
There were retro shirts, bucket hats, knights costumes, plastic crowns and painted faces everywhere. One group of Portsmouth fans sat proudly around a flag reading: “Donald Trump’s Blue and White Army.”
“I’ve had fans from everywhere in here this tournament, but I haven’t heard anything like this,” said Raef, 41, a barman at a Midtown pub. “They were singing before half of them had even got served. It’s been loud all month, but this lot are on another level.”
“We heard the Scots drank Boston dry,” said Jack Stocker, 23, from Bristol. “Fair play, but we all know they’re a bunch of lightweights in kilts. This is New York. This is the big time.”
It wasn’t quite 1776 in reverse, but there was a playful sense of history in the air as England fans joked about reclaiming old territory in a city that once sat under British control.
“They threw us out once, and now we’ve come back to retake what’s ours,” said Guy Cave, 31, from Bradford, wearing a red-and-white cape outside Carragher’s. “We’ve been very patient about it.”
Even the weather seemed to follow them across the Atlantic. Gray skies rolled over New York for much of the day, giving the city a distinctly English look, although the heavy humidity quickly reminded traveling fans they were not back home.
While hundreds of Panama fans took to Times Square, bringing color and noise to the tourist center, England supporters largely sought shelter indoors, choosing the comfort of cold beer and cold air over the city’s sticky streets.
Inside the bars, the soundtrack was familiar. “It’s coming home” rang out between rounds, followed by the usual plea: “Please don’t take me home, I just don’t want to go to work, I want to stay here, drink all your beer.”
The takeover was not just imported from home. Plenty of Americans were in England shirts too, many drawn in through Premier League loyalties rather than family roots.
“I’m from Brooklyn, but I’m an Arsenal fan, so England feels like the obvious choice,” said Will Pembroke, 27, wearing a Bukayo Saka shirt outside Legends. “A lot of American soccer culture can feel a bit forced and cringe. With England, they don’t take themselves too seriously.”
At Jones Wood Foundry on the Upper East Side, the scene was calmer but still tense with tournament anticipation. At Corner Bistro in the West Village, taken over by Burberry for England games throughout the tournament, the mood was more polished. At Tea & Sympathy, some fans swapped pints for tea and scones, finding a quieter slice of home.
Others were stretching the weekend beyond soccer, with groups planning trips to Citi Field and Madison Square Garden for the darts — another piece of English sporting culture landing in Manhattan.
But the main energy remained in the bars, where England fans backed themselves not only against Panama, but against the Scots.
New York will not be coming back to King Charles anytime soon.
But if England finish the job in Group L on Saturday, the football still might be coming home.
