Manchester City star Joe Hart empathises with England fans who deserted the Three Lions after the disappointing World Cup in the summer, reports the Daily Mirror.
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The team crashed put of the tournament in Brazil at the group stage, with minnows Costa Rica making it through at their expense. Fans then stayed away from the next few fixtures at Wembley, creating a dispiriting atmosphere at the national stadium. However, the upcoming game against Lithuania on Friday is the first sell out since they were knocked out.
Hart said of the sell out: “That’s a fantastic feeling if I’m honest. I think all of us fully understood the crowds after the World Cup. We didn’t do well. There was a lot of promise but we didn’t live up to it. You can’t hide from that fact.
“But we’re are the kind of nation that’s going to dig in and we’ll fight, we want to win every game that we play. We’re in a massive stadium and we appreciate it’s difficult to sell out Wembley. Sometimes, with games in the week, it’s difficult for the kids to come – we understand they’ve got to be in bed early – but it’s great to play in front of a full house at Wembley.”
A lot is being made of whether in form striker Harry Kane will play up front with Wayne Rooney on Friday. The 21-year-old is the top English scorer in Europe with 29 goals, and has enjoyed an amazing season at White Hart Lane. However, he will have stern competition from Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck.