PORT ELIZABETH // Frank Lampard, the England midfielder, has praised Three Lions fans for turning Port Elizabeth's Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium into a "home" game during his side's stylish 1-0 win over Slovenia on Wednesday.
"The fans were fantastic," Lampard told The National. "After a lot of the negative things said in the press, some fans could not have been as vocal and supportive, but they were fantastic. There was a special feeling on the way to the ground and it was an England-filled stadium - it was like a home game and it definitely lifted the lads."
Despite England's timid start to its World Cup campaign, an estimated 15,000 England fans flocked to Port Elizabeth for the crunch Group C match.
In the days leading up to the game, the provincial port city's hotels, restaurants and shops were dominated by St Georges' Cross flags as local businesses embraced what Port Elizabeth press dubbed an "English invasion."
South Africans also rallied behind Fabio Capello's side and a sea of red and white dominated the 36,839 crowd.
Lampard is eager to see a repeat performance in Bloemfontein - the venue of Sunday's mouth-watering last 16 clash between England and Germany.
"I hope they come and I'm sure they will - they seem to be travelling everywhere," Lampard added. "When they are supporting the team in that way they are the best fans in the world. When you're driving to the game and you see their faces and support, that can't help but get you going."
Having described the Bloemfontein encounter as the "glamour tie" of the next round, Lampard stressed that England's players, despite having rediscovered their confidence, would be taking nothing for granted against their traditional nemesis.
"We have to keep a steady head, we can't talk about ourselves as world beaters just because we beat Slovenia to get through the group," Lampard said. "But there are a lot of positives and we know that if we are at our best and play to our potential we have a chance to beat anyone."
emegson@thenational.ae
Oscars in the UAE
The 90th Academy Awards will be aired in the UAE from 3.30am on Monday, March 5 on OSN, with the ceremony starting at 5am
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh1,050,000
On sale: now
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Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Court 1 - 4pm
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