England's World Cup Journey Ends in Semi-Final Heartbreak
Following England fans' euphoric highs—especially after the team's mighty win against Mexico—the plunge into the lowest of lows after the loss to old enemy Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals is all the more painful. The wild cheers throughout Newcastle fanzones that had greeted The Three Lions' success up to that point gave way to scenes of abject disappointment on Wednesday evening as supporters made their way home.
But during the tournament, England did us proud, and however bad we are feeling, they will be feeling worse. Their World Cup dream is over, for now—and they can't even come home yet. On the day before the Argentinians play Spain in the World Cup final, they will be taking on France in the match to decide third place. Whether we all have the stomach for more nail-biting moments is another matter.
Which Newcastle Fanzones Will Show the Final World Cup Matches?
So, will the city fanzones, which have seen such scenes of jubilation, bring Saturday's action live to the big screen too? Following the cancellation of one city fanzone—4theFans at the City Hall—just hours before it was due to show Wednesday night's semi-final, we find out whether other main fanzones around Newcastle will be screening the final upcoming matches.
Times Square Fanzone
Times Square, the big fanpark next to Life Science Centre run by We Are Fanzones specialists, will not be showing the weekend games. Instead, preparations will be gearing up to host indie-rockers The Wombats next week followed by the weekend's Newcastle Pride Arena festival. However, it is offering all its fanzone customers—and everybody else—a chance to watch both matches for free at the Southside fanzone. Organisers say: "It's been an amazing rollercoaster of a World Cup—almost 10,000 fans joined us at Times Square to witness England's journey." While they were "gutted" about Wednesday night's defeat, they say: "Hopefully we will witness football coming home on home turf, as a host city, in 2028."
St James STACK
Newcastle's original container village set-up says yes to more football. It says: "The World Cup reaches its final weekend—and there are still two huge games to enjoy live at STACK." So, it will be showing both England's game against France on Saturday night and the Spain v Argentina final on Sunday, with no tickets required. It says: "Watch every moment live on the big screens, with full commentary, incredible street food, ice-cold drinks and a brilliant match-day atmosphere from the build-up to the final whistle."
STACK Newcastle
The city centre STACK, which opened last year on a whole bigger scale, will also be showing the last of the World Cup coverage. The England v France third-place play-off will begin at 10pm on Saturday, while the kick-off for Sunday's Spain v Argentina final is 8pm. STACK says: "Just come along, book a bench (where available), grab a drink and enjoy the action live on the big screen."
Frate
There have been lively scenes during the World Cup screenings on the courtyard of the open-air container village just off High Bridge. It has not announced anything yet on its Facebook page about upcoming screenings, so keep an eye out here just in case.
Summer on the Southside
Just over the river from the city fanzones is the popular outdoor venue on the banks of the Tyne, which added a new big screen ahead of the semi-finals. As confirmed, it will be showing both the England v France third-place game on Saturday and the World Cup final on Sunday—for free. On Facebook, it has said of its expanding football coverage: "It’s been some journey this summer", adding that the "World Cup that started in our Hwkrland that now stretches across the whole of the Southside".
